Chained Reactions
by Lacey52
Summary: What happens when reaction is the only constant in your life? Sequel to Links In The Chain LITC . Reworked and reloaded after years of being offsite. DxS Rated M for violence and some adult language and situations.
1. The Prince

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Alrighty then guys...Reworked this just a bit and am posting it. Hope it works out this time…I like it a lot better now that I know where I'm going with it!

**Sequel to Links In The Chain**

A psychiatrist and his patient, one hour and nine minutes from his time to be released back into the real world. Things are being set in motion. Please see my profile.

Blanket Disclaimer: **I do not own Danny Phantom, or anything thereby affiliated, nor do I own any product, show, book, or other item, idea, place, or persons mentioned in this fan-fiction, unless they are created by myself as a way to move the story forward. Thank you, that is all.**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter One: The Prince**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Neither love nor evil conquer all, but evil cheats more." -Anita Blake

_A prince must have no other objective, no other thought, nor take up any profession but that of war.  
Excerpts from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

One hour and nine minutes.

"Let me tell you, this has been one of the most restful times of my life."

One hour and eight minutes.

"In all honesty, I never viewed anything I've done as wrong, morally or otherwise. I do see, however, your point in all of this."

"My point?"

Pause and consider.

"That perhaps my obsessive nature needed to be calmed somehow, and quite honestly it has been. Never did I have anything but my best wishes and his best interest in mind, for I do care for the boy in a strange, fatherly way."

Another pause and the noisy scratching of pen against paper as notes are taken, ideas jotted down.

"And that means?"

One hour and one minute.

"I care for him as a son. There is no other way to put it, though I do find him a bit wayward in his duty towards one who sees him as a child."

Another flurry of writing and then another pause.

"We've been over this a number of times you know."

"Yes, and I've always been quite aware that he is in no way my child. There was no need to reinforce this idea."

"You have been quite the interesting case…"

"I'm sure."

More writing for one and only the internal tick, tick, tick for the other to focus on.

"You've never displayed any signs of any disorder, except of course at normal levels and the extreme duress of when you first arrived under my care."

"I was under…some amount of stress then, yes."

"You're duress was understandable of course. Any normal person would have reacted in some way or another. You recovered amazingly fast though."

One hour exactly.

"I have always prided myself for my mental capacity and skills, sir."

"One can understand your pride."

"Come doctor, there is something on your mind. Let me for once play the listener for you in return for your….kindness."

The pen stops its movement, a pause and then, a heavy sigh from a tired, confused man.

Fifty seven minutes.

"My good sir, from the instant I began my sessions with you I've found no sign of any disorder, no sign of any questionable behavior and that worried me beyond words. In fact, the more time I spend with you, the more this feels off, as though you have been suppressing those qualities that would be seen as…troublesome."

"And you still feel that way, even today with my release imminent?"

And the writing begins again.

"Doctor."

The pen moves furiously, as though the movement alone can halt the impending events.

"Doctor, it behooves you to answer. A man of my position does not take kindly to waiting for anyone, no matter their supposed status."

The pen stops…it is hopeless.

"And that is another thing that worries me."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

Fifty minutes and dead silence to accompany a portion of it.

"Doctor, may I come in?"

"Come in Cindy."

"I've brought the patient's belongings and clothes. It's nearly time for his departure and we thought he'd appreciate going off in his own clothes."

"Thank you Cindy, lay them there and go back to the front desk please."

The door swings shut once more, the silence returns and the seconds keep ticking by, if only silently.

"May I change?"

"Yes, the bathroom is just through that door."

"Thank you."

Writing and sighs fill up the time for one, as dressing fills the time for another. Appearance is everything for both, though only one truly holds the power.

Thirty minutes.

The door opens.

"Feeling more comfortable now?"

"Indubitably."

A cell phone comes out of one of the pockets and the doctor looks on wonderingly.

"We have but half an hour until we part. One last session might do you some good as you once again journey into the stress of the world."

"I think not. This time, let us finish our earlier conversation. It worries you that I am so polished and refined, I believe?"

"Not _exactly_ that."

"Then?"

"It worries me that you care so deeply for a child that is not your own and yet have only expressed that through careful, seemingly calculated, words. Nothing is wrong with you, but to be blunt, I feel as though there is something severely amiss about you. "

"Many of my…enemies, if you will, feel that I am a bit insane, even when I am perfectly normal."

"Enemies?"

The writing starts again slowly.

"Corporately speaking of course, my good doctor. In the world of sharks, one must learn to survive and know who the enemies are in order to keep them close."

"Of course."

"Would you mind if I browse your extensive library?"

"Not at all."

Observing and being observed, it is cat and mouse game, but only one is sure in the truth of the role they play.

Ten minutes and thirty seconds. A book is reverently pulled from the shelf and gently dusted.

"You've found a book you like?"

"Oh yes, one of my favorites."

"If I may inquire…?"

"Oh no, good doctor, you'll just have to wait. Just like the rest of us. Just for nine more minutes…"

"Nine minutes?"

Pages are turned gently, eyes skim and take in the eloquence of a time long past, and eyes watch, confused and trying to figure out the man in front of him. Eight minutes pass and then…

"My good doctor," he stands, regally, "I thank you for your time, your wisdom, and all your _wasted_ work. I am of the same mind _now_ as when I came and Daniel is in for _quite _the upset I should imagine."

"Mr. Masters! I can have you held here for as long as I see fit, and at this time I revoke my statement of release. Your behavior is erratic and clearly demonstrates that…"

"And you think that you could actually stop me?"

"I have every authority to…"

"Of course you couldn't. It is ridiculous to think that it was your word alone that held me here thus long. I needed time to recuperate _doctor_, and that was gained here. My money is the deal breaker on this one and I shall be leaving whenever I feel ready to do so."

"How dare you, sir, make a mockery of my practice!" He stands, pen and pad falling from his lap to the plush carpet below.

"I dare…like this."

The number is dialed, a ring, an answering voice, "Yes, this is Vlad Masters. Yes, good to hear from you as well, I'm sure. The papers are ready, yes? Good. Sign the deal and buy the mental institution that I have been staying at. Ah, good. Yes? Alright."

Click.

"You see, _sir_," Masters sneered out, "I have the money, and as such I have the power, and that is what is needed to get what you want, or rather what _I_ want."

One minute and it will take exactly that long to make it to the doors.

"Oh and doctor?"

A book lands in his hands as the man walks out, 'Machiavelli? Oh God…'

"Freedom in only fifteen more seconds," the voice fades out as the doctor looks on horrified, "what could be more sweet?"


	2. Summer Daze

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and give me some feedback on where you think this is going.

Oh…and please remember that I wrote LITC before some of the episodes of season two and three came out. No ice powers, no Guys in White, no Clueless One incident and ring, and thus on. It's been a few years…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Two: Summer Daze**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'_A prince should not deviate from what is good, if that is possible…'  
Excerpt from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Man, there isn't anything like a day in the park."

"I know," Sam rolled her eyes at Tucker's obvious glee, "The fresh air, the multitudes of scantily dressed girls, the copious amounts of sunshine making them want to be scantily dressed. I'm just having a blast watching you watch girls."

"What?" Tucker raised an eyebrow with a gleam in his eye, "You know you're not watching me…not when a certain halfa is flying around, beating the crud out of the latest trespasser to his territory."

Sam had the grace to blush at the accusation thrown her way, but unlike certain moments in the past, she also had the decency to admit the truth, "Yeah, well, I was just being sarcastic, no need to get personal."

"At least you aren't denying it anymore…I still can't get over how much money I made at the end of last year!"

"Geeze," Sam smiled, still blushing slightly, "Tucker's rich now, watch out world. What are you going to do now that you can't tease us as much? No more blushy moments, no more denial…"

"There are still plenty of blushy moments and teasing to be had," Tucker grinned widely, "and there's always plenty of bets to be made. When he'll propose, when you'll elope, when you'll have kids…and of course, before that, when you two will finally do the…"

"Finish that sentence and I'll tell Danny," she threatened, punctuating it with a stiff kick to the boy's shin.

"Tell me what?"

Looking to his left, then his right, Tucker finally gave up trying to find his best friend and answered to the air in general, "Absolutely nothing, oh best friend, pal, buddy of mine."

"Not really," Sam smiled in the direction of the invisible teen, "but I'd rather not be responsible for the death of one of my best friends at the hands of my significant other."

Danny, popping back into sight, only caught one thing in her declaration, "So I finally made it to 'significant other', huh?"

"A little off track, but I think you've earned it by now," Sam smiled and moved towards Tucker so Danny could have a seat on the same bench.

"Finally," Danny smiled over at Tucker, "I'm getting closer to the title I want; I'll win that bet yet Tuck."

"You made a bet with Tucker?" Sam growled out.

"Told you there were still bets to be made," Tucker laughed as he left his seat quickly, his shin protesting at the sudden movement, "Besides, it's not like some of the bets other people want to place, it's just when you'll finally give up and call him your boyfriend."

"Yeah," Danny joined Tucker to stand in front Sam, "When are you going to call me that Sam?"

"When I feel good and ready to," Sam crossed her arms and looked away, "Just because _you_ claim _me_ as a 'girlfriend' doesn't mean that I have to claim you as a boyfriend."

"But that's not fair," Danny pouted, putting on his best puppy dog face, "It's a term of endearment, after all…"

"Don't even start that argument," Tucker pretended to gag as he spoke, "You two start arguing and then all of a sudden you get all mushy and romantic and yuck! Spare your best friend, please!"

"Sure, why not," Sam laughed, looking away as an image of herself seen through another's eyes popped into her head, via a very convenient link, "What? Like what you see today?"

"Yeah," Danny blushed, thinking about the source of her question, "Sorry."

"It's fine," Sam blushed lightly as well, "but we'd better stop before Tucker starts asking."

"Aw man, every time!" Tucker shook his head, "I'm gonna' find out one of these days what you guys are sending to each other in your heads, you know I will."

"Let's change the subject," Danny looked pleadingly at Sam, ignoring her flicker of amusement, "What should we do for the rest of the day? I've only got a couple of hours left before I have to be home to help Mom and Dad re-pack Jazz…plus the Box Ghost will probably be attracted by all the boxes she has and want to play with Jazz's stuff…like last time."

"At least this time you won't be late to school," Sam pitched in, remembering the morning last spring when the Box Ghost had trashed the Fenton's house.

"True, but this isn't exactly the way I had planned on spending my last day of freedom…"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"About time you got here," Sam laughed to herself as she 'felt' Danny shift uncomfortably outside her window.

"It wasn't like I was trying to be late," Danny sighed as he phased himself in, "First Jazz lost her books, then the Box Ghost turned up with them, then we had to re-pack everything, then Matches…well, I brought him with me."

As soon as he set the dog down, he launched himself onto Sam's bed, covering the girl in dog kisses and spittle. He had finally finished growing over the summer, and was no longer the little puppy he had been…nor was he as light as he had been originally.

"Danny…get your dog," Sam gasped as she laughed and tried to push herself back upright, "He's gonna' drown me with slobber."

"Matches, come 'ere," the halfa laughingly pulled the dog off, "You act like you haven't seen Sam in years or something."

As soon as Matches was off Sam, it was Danny's turn to swoop in for a kiss…only he paused for a half second to wipe off the kisses his dog left behind on her cheeks first.

"There," he smiled, a happy, light feeling reflected from his eyes and dancing gently across her consciousness, "now you're all mine again…"

"Like I'd ever be anybody else's," Sam rolled her eyes and teased back gently, her halfa's light mood affecting her even more now because he was so close, "Ready to go?"

"Yep," Danny reached down to grab Matches' collar, levitated his dog, and then took Sam by the hand, "One night in the park, coming up O Strange Queen of Darkness."

Already in the air, Sam did little more than frown and send him annoyed waves for fear of retaliation, "You are so gonna' get it when we land."

"Puh-lease," Danny grinned cockily as they began to fly, "I'll make sure that you forget before you even get the chance."

"Sounds like a challenge," Sam felt a tickle of smug satisfaction and her smile widened, "You're so not gonna' win."

"We'll see," and that was all Danny said for the rest of the flight.

Really that was all he said for quite a while, for as soon as they touched ground Matches was left to his own devices and Sam received a grade 'a' kiss, quite effectively easing her from irritation at his overconfidence to other thoughts all together. It was Matches pouncing on the pair on the park bench a moment late with a ball in his mouth that pulled them apart.

"Well," Sam watched as Danny stood to throw the ball for his dog, "one more day of freedom and then it's back to the institutionalized daily grind."

"It's not all that bad," he smiled gently as he sat down beside his girl, "I mean, there's gotta' be something good about school…I just can't think of anything right now."

"I guess if you want to look at it as preparing us for even more school in the form of college, which leads to a never ending process of work," Sam quirked an eyebrow, "you're perfectly right, but what do I know?"

"A lot," Danny chuckled, "but you missed something. It prepares _you_ for college and then _you_ get a really good paying job. I stick around here and keep an eye on the town and play hero for however long…"

Before he even made it halfway through his sentence, Sam had felt him become quite serious. It was a deep feeling, very sobering in its effect on her, and very disheartening for Danny if his roiling emotions were anything to go by.

"Danny," she took his hand and began to fiddle with his fingers as she nervously pressed on, "I know you don't think that you can get away from here, but we'll figure something out. Look at the bright side, things have really settled down since the truce. There's always a chance that things will get even better or settle down completely."

"Not with my luck Sam," Danny sent her a half formed smile, but deep feelings of reassurance, "You should know that by now. Besides, I've already decided that I'll just stick around here and help my parents. I've accepted it…it's the right thing to do and it's alright."

'Here I am trying to comfort you, and you go and make me feel better about it,' Sam groused silently to herself before a thought hit her, "Your parents are not going to like that you know."

"Yeah I know," he tried to smile, but only winced as he continued apologetically, "but if I don't apply then there won't be a choice…"

"I wish you'd go ahead and apply anyways," Sam felt herself being pulled off the bench and towards the grass to lie down next to the young man she was worrying over, "You'll never know what might happen, and you might regret it if you don't at least try…"

"Hey," he kissed her forehead and tried to ease her into a better mood, her sadness starting to make him rethink his earlier decision where college was concerned, "don't sound so depressed."

"Goes with my image," she replied happily, watching as Matches finally came back into sight with the ball in his mouth, only to dash away again in his own made-up game.

"You're cute, which doesn't go with your image, but I still like it," Danny turned to grin down at her and kiss her nose. Sam could only blush, "and I can _still_ make you blush."

Rolling her eyes at his sudden burst of confidence, Sam gently hit his arm, the dusting of red still on her cheeks, "Great, now I'm just stroking the male ego…"

"Aw, is that all?"

As Danny's eyebrows wiggled up and down in an all together too cute, but _way_ too suggestive motion, Sam out right hit him, "Danny! You're such a perv…what happened to mister shy kid?"

"I'm a guy," Danny laughed easily as he turned back to gaze at the stars, "It's what happens to us when we're actually able to trick a girl into liking us…"

"Yeah well," Sam laughed gently at his statement, the happy feelings that had been lost finally returning and swirling between the two, "the mood is now gone anyways, so no more ideas like that."

"There was a mood?" he pouted playfully as he sat back up to throw the ball that Matches had finally decided to return to him.

"Key word," Sam replied cheekily, "Was."

"Well geeze," the halfa shook his head, "I'm one stupid guy then."

"No," Sam sat up beside him and pecked his cheek, happy that they were both in such a carefree mood, "you're cute, to quote a certain best friend of mine."

"Just what every guy dreams of being called…"

"You'll live," Sam laughed and began to pet Matches, who had just plopped down besides her, panting heavily from his playing, "You should be thankful though, I usually stay far away from anything 'cute' and you know that."

"Speaking of things that are considered cute and that you usually stay far away from, you think that Paulina will ever find another color, or be permanently stuck in pink?"

"We have a so called psychic connection and yet you_ still_ manage to say things that make me mad," Sam growled out, "The mind of a teenage boy never fails to amaze me with its vapid shallowness…"

"Aw c'mon Sam," Danny pouted pitifully, nerves on edge from her reaction to his innocent, or at least what he thought was innocent, statement, "I didn't mean it like that, you know you're the only one for me."

"I'd better be," she grinned, suddenly in a far better mood, "and the feeling is mutual."

"Glad to know," Danny grinned, "So…ready for tomorrow?"

"Not really, but when have we ever been ready for...well, _anything_?"

"Well…" a sudden thrill shot up Sam's spine at the timbre of his voice, "I'm definitely ready for a kiss…"

And without another word, their conversation was indefinitely suspended as they both reveled in the moment. Their last night of freedom, a clean slate for tomorrow, and all the time in the world for now.

For now, that is, until things started getting a bit too…passionate for Sam.

"Dan..," she started, but was succinctly cut off with another kiss before she managed to push him back slightly, "Danny…"

"Yeah," the boy cocked his head cutely, blue eyes sparkling and the intense emotion behind them clear…and not just because of their link.

"I think it's time to stop…"

With a sigh, Danny stood up and pulled Sam to her feet. He dusted himself off and kept his eyes hidden under his bangs for a minute before his hand crept to the back of his neck in his normal nervous habit, "Sorry Sam."

"Don't be sorry," Sam leaned into him, "It wasn't like I didn't like it too."

"Yeah, but it's always…" he trailed off for a second as a dozen moments just like this flashed across both their minds, "It's just that you always have to stop me and I don't wannna' be that kinda' guy."

"You're not," Sam shook her head as she finally caught his eyes, "Girls are more level headed and mature at this age. It's my job to keep you from having your evil way with me."

"Yeah," it was Danny's turn to roll his eyes, "like you never start anything…"

With a final laugh between the pair and one last gentle kiss, Matches was gathered and they were soon in the air headed for Sam's house. It was definitely a thoroughly enjoyed last night of freedom for the two.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Home, sweet, home," Danny quoted to his dog as he phased them both into the house, right to the top of the stairs to be precise, only to stop in shocked horror as he looked back into the living room right into the eyes of his mother, "Mom!"

"Danny?" Maddie looked at him in confusion, sleepiness apparent in her voice, "When did you…?"

"Heh," he nervously backed away and silenced his cell phone as it began to ring. Sam's ring tone, of course, "I guess I'm just a little too good at being able to sneak back in…"

"Mm," Maddie frowned as she moved up the stairs and began to clear the cobwebs from her sleep addled mind, "And just where were you so late?"

"Out stargazing," the boy at least had the decency to blush at being caught. Matches had long left him to his fate in favor of curling up on his bed to sleep, 'Great, I've been abandoned by man's supposed best friend…'

"With?"

"Uh…with Sam."

"Did you two _do_ anything?" his mom asked menacingly, taking in his ruffled appearance. In all honesty he was far more ruffled from flying home than from anything he and Sam had done that night, but he couldn't exactly tell his mother that.

"No Mom," he rolled his eyes, finally managing to calm down enough to get Sam to calm down. Not answering his cell phone was one of the easiest ways to make her panic, especially after such a shock to his…well, their minds, "We looked at the stars, we talked, we kissed a little, and then I took her home. It was nice…and Matches was a good chaperone."

"Well," Maddie smiled fondly at her son, "I'm glad that you had a nice time. With school starting, I don't want you out this late anymore. You're usually so tired once school starts, and I don't want Sam to have to drag you home in the middle of the night because of some ghost attack. You know that ghosts prefer nighttime activities."

"Heh," Danny nervously swallowed before he could even form an appropriate answer, 'That's already happened more times than you need to know…'

"I don't think that'll happen Mom."

"You know you can tell me anything right?"

"Yeah Mom," Danny looked at her in confusion, feeling Sam start to grow irritated with all of his sudden changes in emotion…she was probably ready for bed and he was just keeping her up now, "What brought this on?"

"Just call it 'mother's intuition'. I just felt the need to ask."

"I'm fine," the boy tiredly smiled and pecked her on the cheek, "but tired. Night Mom."

"Night Danny."

And she watched him leave. Of all the things that Maddie wasn't, the biggest one was oblivious. Given enough time, she could probably figure out any problem set before her…and lately her son had become her biggest conundrum. Always tired, always out past curfew, but always a good kid, never in any serious trouble besides the incident last year with one of the other boys at school.

But it just didn't add up and she was beginning to worry more than she ever had before. Something was happening to her boy…because the simplest way to put it was that he wasn't a 'boy' anymore. He had become a man a long time ago…and it scared her because no one his age should ever look or sound so old.

And the thing that worried her even more was that the 'children' that he had been friends with for so long had begun to take on the same wearied look. Not completely worn down, just…older. Wise. She couldn't figure out why.

And not being able to figure it out and help them worried her most of all…


	3. Calculations

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Well, here we go…another chapter and another excerpt from 'The Prince' by Machiavelli…

Can you begin to see that this is heading somewhere dangerous for our favorite group?

As always, love to you all! And cookies 'cause they're good.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Three: Calculations**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_[…always have an ally…]_

"_If your allies win, you benefit whether or not you have more power than they have."_

"_If you are more powerful, then your allies are under your command; if your allies are stronger, they will always feel a certain obligation to you for your help."_

"_If your side loses, you still have an ally in the loser."_

_Excerpts from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"You are so certain of your plans Masters," the voice drawled out the last name, sickeningly sweet in the timber and oh so malicious in the meaning, "but you've yet to offer me anything in this one. What do I gain by assisting you in this little scheme of yours?"

"As far as my intelligence informs me," Vlad unhurriedly stirred the tea in his cup, letting the sugar cubes dissolve, "not only do you hold a grudge against one, Danny Phantom, also known as Daniel Fenton, you once desired to use his unique DNA structure to mold yourself a new body. You must be incredibly intelligent to be able to design and nearly succeed in such an endeavor…"

'Flattery will get you everywhere Vlad Masters,' Penelope Spectra laughed to herself, the tone somewhere between seductive and decidedly cruel, "You still sound so sure and yet you've offered me nothing."

"I offer you a chance for revenge," a gentle puff of air left his lips, swirling the steam rising from his cup, "I offer you the chance to make a hero fall from grace. And of course, if things continue to fruition, you will have succeeded in ending a truce that several ghosts have found very inconvenient. It doesn't take much, really, to rile that lot up."

"Tell me more," Spectra purred as she leaned congenially across the desk Vlad sat behind, "Like why you need me to do this…"

"I'm sure you already know," Vlad answered stiffly, the game finally coming to the dangerous middle ground where dominance would have to be established, though it mattered not to him at the moment what she would perceive him as, "I no longer have my powers thanks to the same halfa and his counterparts. You have a working knowledge of the youthful psyche, which will more than come in handy with my plans. Also, you have one other talent…new I believe? Have your faithful _butler_ teach you?"

"Ah," the ghost leaned back, straightening her clothes, though they had not a wrinkle on them, "I see. Your plans are certainly…_elaborate_."

"Yes."

"You certainly are _confident_."

"You've mentioned that several times, but I assure you," his lips finally graced the edge of the tea cup with their presence as a long, drawn out taste was taken with full pleasure, "I have no plans to ever fail again. There will be no other attempt and I have more than done my homework for this."

A binder of information that had been carefully collected before the entire fiasco of losing his other half was laid before her. Before her were the details of the lives of three certain teenagers. Pages upon pages of it if the heft of the binder was to be used to judge, beginning early in their freshman year and ending a few months before he had been admitted to the institution. Spectra was impressed.

"All or nothing, I see?"

"Quite."

A thoughtful pause was taken and all options were weighed carefully on her part as she lounged on his fine mahogany desk. If they succeeded, she would undoubtedly be the best off, benefit the most from the situation. And if they lost, what would it matter to her…the halfa's wrath would be spent on the man before her. She'd have to make plans of her own to ensure that. Like Masters, she was more than confident in her abilities to arrange things to her liking.

"I'm in and I'll start tomorrow."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The morning light stretched itself across the messy floor of the teenaged boy's room. Bottles of soda, cans of juice, two empty pizza boxes, one dog, and two bodies were cast in golden tones as the sun rose higher.

A bang had Sam sitting straight up, Matches popping up beside her and cocking his head sideways. His tail began to wag excitedly as the boy on the floor beside Sam sat up as well.

He immediately began groping for his glasses.

"Man," Tucker groaned as he finally found them, "did we _all_ fall asleep on the floor or did Danny leave us to be stiff and sore and sleep on his bed?"

Sam raised an eyebrow as another thud sounded from somewhere below, followed by shouts of "Ghosts!" and "Hey, watch it! That actually stings!"

"I think he fell asleep here by us," Sam began to pet the dog beside her, "I distinctly remember the sound of snores to my left _and_ right around four this morning."

"Coming through, sorry!"

Danny shot up out of the ground, a thud hitting the floor right where he had passed through, before reforming a pair of legs and sitting heavily on his bed. He looked rather ruffled and had a tear across his jumpsuit's right shoulder, though nothing gave the appearance of him being injured.

"You look like something the cat drug in," Sam stood and went to sit beside Danny, "Better change back, Matches is staring at the door."

Indeed, Matches was staring at the door, tail wagging slowly and one ear cocked upright. A cute look, or so thought Danny. Danny changed just as Jack and Maddie burst through the door to his room, weapons drawn and eyes searching every part of their son's living space. Neither appeared to notice anything until they spotted both Sam and Danny sitting on the bed.

"Sam! You spent the night," Jack slid in between the two, before turning to Danny with a frown on his face, "We don't need to have a talk do we, young man?"

"I hope not," Tucker cut in, "because I was sleeping right beside them. We all crashed in front of the computer watching a movie."

"Oh good," Maddie smiled congenially, "All three of you are here, so while I make some breakfast, you can help Jack clean up the mess in the kitchen."

"Mess in the kitchen?" Sam leaned backwards, around Jack's bulky form, to gave a meaningful look to Danny.

"Heh," he laughed weakly, "must've been what those noises we heard were. Sounded kinda' bad…like a table…and the contents of the cabinets…and a couple things of juice and milk and…"

"Great," Tucker groaned again as he flopped back down onto the pillow he had borrowed, before popping back up hopefully, "At least we get breakfast! Can I have some bacon and eggs_ and_ sausage Mrs. Fenton?"

"As long as you help clean," she replied knowingly, a smirk forming on her lips.

"But of course," Tucker said cheerfully, getting up and stretching, then heading out the door with his backpack over his shoulder, "but first, I'm gonna' change."

"Change in the room with Danny!" Sam shot up and pulled him back into the room by the loop on the top of his bag, "I get the bathroom."

"I was just being nice," Tucker smiled mischievously.

"Okay, kids," Danny and Jack both rolled their eyes at their behavior, then looked at one another, Danny in slight horror, Jack with a far-away look of pride.

"Tell me I didn't just do that."

"You did! That's my boy alright!"

"Going to change," Sam grabbed her backpack and set out for the bathroom, "You boys have fun and play nice…not like you ever do…"

"Grumble, grumble, grumble," Tucker and Danny both laughed, though Danny shut up much more quickly, a wave of annoyance rolling through his belly.

"Grumpy much," Danny stood and stretched, mumbling under his breath as Jack and Maddie moved out the door.

"No, no," Tucker smiled brightly, "I'm actually feeling pretty good. Meat for breakfast and all."

"Not you," Danny smirked and shook his head, "Sam's just in a mood."

They started to get dressed, changing in silence, before Tucker shook his head and started laughing, "You know, you've got to be the luckiest guy on the planet."

"How do you figure that?" Danny pulled a fresh shirt over his head, "I have a whole slew of enemies, I've been fighting nearly everyday since I turned fourteen, my girlfriend, who by the way still refuses to acknowledge the words 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend', knows exactly what I'm feeling all the time, and my parents threaten my alter-ego every time they see me."

"Yeah," Tucker wiggled his eyebrows, a mischievous glow in his eyes, "but you know exactly what your woman is thinking. You're the only man on earth with that power."

"You're wrong you know," Danny shot his best friend a look while they headed out the door and to the stairs, "I may know what she's _feeling_, but I have no clue what in the world she's _thinking_. You know that."

"It's close enough," Tucker shrugged.

"Not really," Danny laughed, "you can never rely on a woman's emotion to figure out what she's thinking."

"Sure you don't want to take that back?" Sam's laughing voice was behind them on the stairs, amusement passing between the girl and her halfa, "Because even though I'm laughing, I'm sure I could kick you in the shin right now."

"How about after we clean up," they had made it to the kitchen, and it was totally and utterly wrecked, "because I don't think shin problems will help…"

"Deal," Sam smiled sweetly, "now march."

"Aye, aye," Tucker saluted and grabbed a box of cereal that was right in front of him on the floor. The elder Fentons returned from the hall with cleaning supplies in hand and assigned each of the teens a job. Sam, thankfully, was given a job that kept her away from any meat products. A smile split her face every few seconds as warmth wrapped itself around her heart. Danny was in a very, very good mood.

A brief flash brought an even bigger smile to her face as she wiped up flour from the counters, a perfect picture of her snuggled into his side as the sunlight crept across her face. It was probably when he had first woken that morning and saw her.

'He feels like he really enjoyed that,' she blushed a bit to herself, reaching up to push a stray lock of hair from her face, 'Not that I didn't like waking up next to him too. It's the first time we've ever slept next to each other like that…well, like a couple…'

Danny started humming happily as her feelings began to blend with his, and he moved over to tap her on the shoulder. Sam turned to see what he needed, but he simply grabbed her hand and spun her.

'He's dancing,' her eyes laughed, even as she shook her head and blushed, 'Danny, you are entirely too happy this morning.'

"Okay, already," Tucker bumped against them, "You're cute together, we get it."

"Oh Tucker, dear," Maddie laughed, "leave them alone. There's nothing wrong with being cute."

"Mom," Danny stopped their impromptu waltz, "Geeze, can't a guy be happy and dance with his girl without the comments?"

"Since when do I belong to you?"

Jack, Maddie, and Tucker just started laughing as Danny did a one-eighty to face the suddenly irate Sam. She was tapping her foot, and looking dangerous, but the laughter that he could feel trying to get out of her was making him smile.

'God I love her,' he shook his head, reaching up to push back the flour-white streak of hair as she had previously done. The image suddenly passed between them and that was that. They both promptly burst out laughing, leaving his parents confused and Tucker shaking his head as he turned back to his work. It was going to be a long, fun, Sunday morning…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"So, how're the classes going?" Dash slid up beside Sam Monday morning as she twirled her combination lock, her eyebrows lowered in a frown as she concentrated on the right numbers, "Twenty three, seven, nineteen."

An eyebrow was raised before she tried the numbers and finally got her locker opened, "It's the second week of school. How in the world do you know my locker combination?"

"I only stood here every day the first week, listening to you mumble your numbers every single time you opened it," Dash responded with a snort, "I'm not _that_ stupid, Manson."

"Coulda' fooled me," Sam smirked as she teased her friend, "Anyways, classes have been fine…you?"

"As good as they ever get," he shrugged noncommittally, "How's…everything going?"

'Ah yes,' Sam sighed, 'The ever touchy subject that we always talk about without ever saying anything.'

"Everything's been alright," she smiled a little too brightly, before shivering, "but I think things are about to get interesting unless it's cold for something other than my significant oth…"

"Not me," Danny raced around the corner, bright, green eyes searching, "Have you seen…"

"Danny Phantom!" Paulina raced down the hall to throw herself at him as Sam's jealousy roared to life in Danny's mind, and other people roared down the hall to get away from the impending ghost fight that they were sure was about to occur, "You've come to visit me? Oh, I've missed you!"

"Uh, no actually, Paulina," Danny phased himself from the grip she had on his pant's leg, "There's a ghost around here somewhere…except I can't find it anywhere."

Sam got the hint as his eyes pleaded for some form of escape from the overly clingy cheerleader. He was practically shouting for help in her mind, as nervousness, discomfort, and a hint of worry leaked over.

"Uh, there!" Sam suddenly pointed wildly, hoping that whoever was left would buy it, "I swear I just saw something with reddish eyes disappear around that corner. It was all dark and spooky…and uh…"

"Thank you for the tip, pretty young miss," Danny floated up to her and smirked deviously, playing up his 'hero' status a little too much for her taste, "It's greatly appreciated."

"Riiiight," Sam rolled her eyes, and pointed once again, "I bet that _ghost_ is going to _get away_."

"Right, right," and he was off with a small wave. Paulina looked between her 'ghost boy' and Sam with her mouth flopping like fish before stomping off. Dash just chuckled.

"Getting a little obvious," the blonde shook his head, before continuing in a quieter voice, "I think he's in loooove."

"Keep talking and die," Sam slammed her locker shut, before banging her head on it, "I didn't get my stuff out…"

"Twenty three, seven, nineteen."

"Shut up."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Tucker was beginning to worry.

He really hated worrying, especially when it was so early in the school year and involved his two best friends. He had the feeling that he was going to have ulcers before he hit twenty at the rate he was going.

The worry stemmed from several incidences throughout the day. It was either Danny sensing a ghost lurking around and not being able to find it, or Sam getting the shivers from sudden cold spots. Of course, after the fifth time she found herself shivering, Sam had let Danny know.

This had led to Danny turning into a giant worrywart and scolding her for not mentioning it sooner. This led to a short, but spirited fight between the two that resolved quickly with Danny saying they'd just have to watch Sam and see if they couldn't catch the ghost.

That meant that Sam was not to be left alone, or so he had said in no uncertain terms. Valerie was currently hanging out with the girl in question, even though she kept insisting that she was quite capable of taking care of herself, thank you very much. Danny wasn't taking the chance, and with all that had happened, Tucker didn't really blame him. Sometimes, Danny had the right to be paranoid.

Dash just saw it as an excuse to tease the two about being too in love. He got a bigger kick out of it than he ever got out of stuffing Danny into a locker. All in all, this went into the making of a very unpleasant day for the entire group of friends as Sam became more and more annoyed with Danny's worrying, which just made Danny grow more and more grumpy over all.

'They either need to find a hall closet and have a make out session,' Tucker tiredly rubbed at his eyes, holding his glasses off to the side, 'or talk about this and …God, it's cold all of a sudden.'

Tucker looked around cautiously, trying to decide whether it was just Danny passing by for some reason, or an actual threat. In any case, he didn't like feeling as though he was being watched.

"Danny, I swear, what do you want _me _to do?" Sam's voice was heard around the corner and Tucker hurried to find them, feeling awkward with the cold hovering around him. He found a laughable sight as he rounded the bend and tried his best to keep a straight face.

"I know," Sam wrapped herself around Danny, who was suddenly turning red, "I'll just have to love you…"

"Sam," he looked around, before a flash of recognition flashed across his face and he began playing along, "I love it when you're like this…"

"I'm so glad," she replied saucily, "wouldn't want to disappoint…"

"Oh, get a room already," Dash rolled his eyes, "You two make me sick, Fen-turd."

"You're just jealous," Danny shot back. Tucker felt the cold that had been hovering over his shoulder suddenly disappear. Strange…

"Alright, alright," Dash sighed heavily, "I'll walk Sam home today, geeze, just stop it with the cute shit."

"So what's all this about?" Tucker finally made his presence known, not that they hadn't taken notice of him, "Having fun with the pda in the hall much?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing, Mr. Foley," Edward Lancer appeared through one of his many classroom doors, "Would you care to join your 'significant other' in detention today, Ms. Manson?"

"No sir," she smiled sweetly at the older man, then turned to her thus named boy, "See? Someone respects my wishes…"

"Oh come on," Danny pleaded cutely, "Just one time, I'll even help you say it…'boy-friend'…see? It's not hard."

"Shut up, again," Dash stepped forward and smacked Danny on the back of the head, "You're such a girl…what the heck is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," the halfa growled out while rubbing his injury gingerly, "I can't want for my girlfriend to call me her boyfriend?"

"As much as I enjoy the intricacies of your group's conversation," the vice-principal cut in, "You owe me an explanation, and then you all need to get to class."

"Well," the famous nervous gesture that Danny had seemed to have perfected was performed, namely he rubbed the back of his neck, "Sam keeps feeling cold spots, and my ghost sense keeps going off, only no one ever sees the ghost. I wanted Dash to walk Sam home since I can't, and Tucker has some research to do in the library…anyways, we were just goofing off to annoy him into agreeing."

"I see," Lancer's left eyebrow raised slightly, "Now, shall we all go to our assigned destinations?"

"Right away, Mr. Lancer," Dash shot his winning smile at the man. Then he shivered. As a matter of fact, they all did, then watched in slight awe as light blue mist proceeded from Danny's mouth.

It was always an odd sight, even if you'd seen it time and time again.

"I'm not even going to try," Danny shook his head, "It's just not worth it…"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Sam gave him a quick hug before stepping off to her next class, "Boyfriend. One time only."

Tucker and Dash just laughed, while Lancer watched on with a small smile. Danny's smile could very well have split his face in two if it were even physically possible. Sam was heard quietly chuckling her way down the hall.

As they went their separate ways, Tucker quickly pulled Danny off to the side to inform him of the cold spot following him for a bit. Neither boy knew what to make of it, so they decided to not worry.

Or at least Tucker decided. He knew Danny would anyways, so it was no use trying to convince him otherwise…

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Again?' Valerie questioned herself as a shiver racked her body, 'I'm inside the frickin' gym, for goodness sake, it's kinda' obvious when a ghost is around!'

She had felt this about three times today, and didn't quite know what to do as she couldn't see the offender…and with Danny having troubles finding the ghost, she seriously doubted she would be able to catch it.

"Danny?" she finally caught up with the halfa about a half hour later, "I felt it again. It's not just Sam like we thought, even though it was following her all Monday."

"I know," he tiredly ran a hand through his hair, "Tucker felt it a few times this week, and it's been around me and Dash more than once today and yesterday, too…"

"Well, who's out of the ghost zone this week?"

"Let's see," Danny thought back over who he knew were out on their turn, "Johnny and Kitty are out again…and Ember, Dora, and Poindexter. And Huey…I think."

"That's six ghosts! I thought that you didn't agree to that many being out at once," Valerie snapped, was obviously upset, and that made Danny shift nervously in his spot, "Don't you think that could eventually be a problem with so many out at once?"

"Well," the boy stopped shifting, gratefully letting the gentle, reassuring sweep of feelings from Sam wash over him, "I know Dora and Poindexter pretty well, and we're on good terms. Same with Huey. Johnny and Kitty are only kinda' bothersome, but all they really want to do is hang out with each other. Ember would be the only one I'd have problems with, but with you, I doubt it would be too difficult."

"For you, maybe," Valerie rolled her eyes, then shivered as another cold spot drifted over them and Danny's blue mist was seen again, "Oh that's just great!"

Danny quickly looked around; eyes shinning slightly green, though Valerie didn't know whether it was from anger or worry. It probably didn't matter in that moment, and she knew that Sam was soon to appear what with his feelings becoming pronounced enough to change his eyes.

"Hey," Valerie gently laid a hand on the halfa's shoulder, trying to calm him down and save Sam a trip from the third floor to the first, "We can't do anything about it right now, we don't even know where the ghost is exactly. Just knowing that there is one, that's the important part, 'cause eventually it'll mess up and we can kick its butt to kingdom come."

"Yeah," Danny turned back to his friend, "You're right…sorry, I just…"

"It's cool," Valerie laughed, ready to open the door, before Danny caught her in a hug, "Uh, Danny?"

"Just thanks," the halfa hefted a sigh and released her, grinning sheepishly, "I haven't been a very good friend lately with how weird things have been. I'm just thankful to have a friend like you."

Valerie blushed, the cold spot disappeared, and their Thursday continued as per usual. The fact that life was starting to get interesting again was not lost on any one in the little group that had formed around Danny. The only problem was, none of them were prepared for just how interesting things would end up being…


	4. Ersatz

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: I've missed this and you guys! I hope I'm not too rusty at this. This chapter covers the school week before Danny's birthday, September 22nd through the 26th just to clue you guys in.

Also, I doubt this will be quite as Epically Long as LITC…though it will be 30-ish chapters long. Enjoy! :)

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Four: Ersatz**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'…_making efforts to appear religious to sway the 'vulgar'.' _

_Excerpts from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

School had been, thus far…school.

With the weird exceptions of the cold spots randomly forming around Danny, Sam, and all of their friends for the past couple of weeks. Honestly though, in a certain halfa's opinion, that was somewhat par for the course.

Danny sat in his history class, tapping his pencil's eraser in a fast cadence as he watched the clock tick the time away until the end of his fourth period class. Chin resting in hand, face and body relaxed, only the tapping gave away his agitation to his other classmates. Most overlooked it though, as it was almost time for lunch and everyone was ready to get away from Mr. Markarth's droning voice.

A wave of curiosity caught his attention, as he was not curious in the least at the moment, 'Huh….must be something interesting going on in AP Chem today. Maybe Sam's teacher is letting them do some experiment or something.'

Glancing around and resigning himself to taking at least a few notes for the last ten minutes of class, Danny put pencil to paper, shaking his head as Sam's curiosity fluctuated between annoyed curiosity and a gnawing desire to figure something out. The intricacies of the two different feelings were hard to distinguish unless he let his own mind sort of…drift out of focus. If he didn't think about what was going on in his head, it was a lot easier to understand what was going on in hers.

The glazed look in Danny's eyes didn't go unnoticed by his teacher, though, who cleared his throat loudly directly in front of Danny's desk. Danny jerked upright to attention, with a half grin of apology on his face, "Sorry Mr. Markarth."

"Danny, I know history isn't your favorite subject," the white-haired man peered over the rims of his glasses, "but please at least try to pretend to be interested in my class and make an old man about to retire happy."

"Yes, sir," Danny's grin turned halfway into a frown, "Just hungry, sorry."

"Almost time, class," the older man shook his head, "Hold on for just another few minutes and let me outline what will be on the quiz at the end of the week."

Groans came from nearly everyone in class at that announcement, and though Danny wrote, his eyes were glued on the clock once again as his thoughts drifted, 'What great luck…a quiz on my birthday. Nothing new there.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Mrs. Browning, would you have Samantha Manson please report to Mr. Lancer's Office?"

"Oh, of course," the teacher sent a confused glance between the clock on the wall and her student.

'Twelve minutes to lunch?' Sam quirked an eyebrow as she looked over to her AP Chemistry teacher standing at the whiteboard, "Can I just take my stuff Mrs. Browning? It's almost time for class to be out anyways."

"Probably best," the young teacher shrugged before turning back to the chemical equation on the board, "Now, who can tell me how to balance this equation?"

Sam packed her things as one of the other students stood to demonstrate the answer. She couldn't quite figure out why Mr. Lancer would need to see her right before lunch, but far be it from her to turn down a visit with one of her favorite members of the faculty.

The young woman quickly made her way down the hall, thoughts ranging from why he would need to see her to why he couldn't wait until after lunch because she was starving. Heading down the stairwell, Sam nearly tripped over the Vice-Principal in question as he was heading up.

"Is everything quite alright?"

"Um, I don't know?" Sam answered back, inquiringly, "Did you need to see me?"

"Not that I am aware," the man looked at the packet of papers in his hand, "I was on my way to the teacher's lounge to see the head of the math department about the budget."

"Oh," Sam adjusted her backpack, then rocked back on her heels, "One of the office aides just told me to report to your office. I thought maybe you needed to see me for something."

"Perhaps there is something sitting in my inbox on my desk that will explain this," Lancer smiled at the petite girl in front of him, "Please wait outside my office for me. This should only take me a few moments to drop off, then I will be back directly."

"Okay," Sam shrugged, a little confused over the situation, then waved and headed off, "See you in a few Mr. Lancer."

He nodded and continued on his way, confused himself over this particular student being summoned to his office without prior notice, 'We will have it all resolved shortly I'm sure.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Dude, scoot over," Kwan gestured with his head towards Tucker, hands full with both his and Star's tray, "Star went to grab a couple of extra chairs."

Mouth full of Tuna Surprise, Tucker just bobbed his head and scooted his chair to the right, making room at their surprisingly full little table. Finally getting everything that was in his mouth fully chewed and swallowed, Tucker sent a knowing grin to Kwan, "Whipped much there buddy?"

Kwan just shrugged happily in reply as Star swooped in with the chairs, pecking him on the cheek in passing, "Thank you!"

"Not a problem, babe," he raised his eyebrows, "See Tucker, totally worth it."

"I suppose," Tucker pushed another sporkful of food into his mouth, "but men like me can't leave the ladies disappointed and get ourselves attached to only one girl."

"Keep singing that song and Valerie will probably break you in half," Star retorted in a sing-song tone, as Danny snorted his milk and Dash rolled his eyes, "I think that you would be just as whipped if she let you go out with her. Besides, Kwan isn't whipped, he just knows how to treat a girl right."

"Yeah, what she said," Kwan sat down, then in a stage whisper announced, "That's how you keep your girlfriend happy for future reference."

"That's only if said girl lets you call her your girlfriend," Danny shook his head in amusement as he twirled his spork through the grayish mass of tuna, noodles, and peas on his tray, then reached for his soda, "Speaking of which, where is Sam?'

"Don't you know?" Dash leveled the halfa with a look and pointed to his own temple.

"No," Danny rolled his eyes, "Don't have a clue."

"Maybe she had to stay behind for something," Valerie joined in as she sat, sending an odd glance towards Tucker who had started blushing at her approach to the table, "What's wrong with Foley?"

"Nothing," Tucker spit out a little too quickly, "Nothing at all. As a matter of fact, I'm good. I'm done. I mean, I'm done eating, I'll just stop now."

"Aaand now you know," Danny clapped him on the shoulder roughly, "This is karma. Say it with me, 'Karrrrmaaaaaa'."

"Seriously though," Star glanced towards the food line and cafeteria doors across from them, "where is Sam? She usually gets here before me and Kwan do."

"I'm here!"

The group looked to their right towards the far end of the table as one, Sam's tone a little too bright and bubbly. Danny especially pulled a strange face.

'Okay, I know she's getting better at making her face _not_ match her emotions, but this is a little extreme,' he sent her a half smile, a questioning feeling dancing through his mind pushing towards her. Sam didn't so much as blink as she moved to sit beside him, absolutely no change in her countenance, even as a replying wave of annoyance flashed through him, 'That's weird.'

"What's wrong?" Danny set his soda bottle down, a worry mark furrowing his brow.

"Nothing, why?" Sam popped her clear salad container open, reaching for a tomato, "I mean I know I was late, but I had to talk to my teacher."

"Huh," Danny breathed, then shook his head, "Just worried."

"That's sweet," Sam cocked an eyebrow back at him.

A small silence fell over everyone as they continued to eat. Sam shifted in her chair a couple of seconds later, before reaching for her backpack and digging around. She stopped what she was doing after a moment and bit her lip, "Shoot, left my notebook. I'll be right back."

"Hey," Danny caught her hand, "lunch is almost over. Just wait, we'll stop by on the way to math."

Sam just shook her head, "No, I really wanted to look over my notes, I'll be right back."

Everyone watched curiously as she quickly walked back the way she had came, backpack in hand. Tucker and Valerie shared a very confused look while Dash just kept eating. Not five seconds after Sam had left did she come striding back into the cafeteria and pulled out her chair, slamming herself down into it.

A frown was across her face before clearing at the sight of her salad, "Oh, thanks for getting my lunch."

Sam was met by silence and strange looks all around, "What?"

"Sam," Danny searched her face, "You got your salad…and you just left to get your notebook."

"No I didn't," she shook her head, "I've been sitting outside of Lancer's office for the past twenty minutes, only to find out there was no reason for me to be there."

"Dude, you were just here. You ate a tomato," Dash pointed at her salad, "I watched you."

'Creepy much,' the girl in question felt shivers run up her spine, turning towards Tucker, Valerie, Star and Kwan, who were all nodding their heads and sharing various worried, and weirded out looks, "No, I didn't. Ask Mr. Lancer."

"Hey," Danny grabbed her hand, "I believe you, but we all just watched you sit here and then leave."

"Must have been a ghost," Sam said teasingly, causing Star and Kwan to laugh in mirth, and the rest to chuckle in unease, 'They're serious! Holy…'

"Yeah, must've been," Valerie smoothly covered for her, so as not to tip off the two at the table who were out of the loop, "but it could've been a doppelganger."

"Yeah, no," Dash just shook his head, as Danny spoke, "Amity Park is weird enough as it is. No need to add other myths and legends."

The bell rang then and as the group began to clean up, Sam hurriedly chewed on a few pieces of cucumber. A slight tension ran through them all at the thought that something otherworldly had just walked amongst them in Sam's form.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"What is going on?" Sam pulled Danny to the side as they started their walk towards their math class.

"I dunno'," Danny shrugged, thinking back over his morning, "My ghost sense has been going off all day, and the cold spots have been around Tuck and me, so I guess I didn't notice it was a ghost. There aren't many ghosts that can change their form though…"

"I got called to Mr. Lancer's office right before lunch, but I met him in the stairwell," Sam chewed on her lip as she thought it over too, "He told me he didn't know I'd been called to see him and asked me to wait while he did something else. When he finally got back he didn't find a note or anything explaining why I'd been called in…and the office aide was some Junior guy I've never met before…but the voice that told me to report was definitely a girl's."

"Well, now we know that there's a shape shifter around," Danny ran a hand through his hair, "We need to figure out a way tell though. I think someone's been messing with the air conditioner too, it's been getting colder in here lately. Think someone's trying to block my ghost sense?"

"No," Sam shook her head, "Mr. Lancer told me the AC got stuck last night and they're having the repair guys come in later this week to look at it. Natural short, no ghost involvement."

"Man, I hate when stuff like this happens," the halfa shook his head, "I always feel like I'm at the other ghosts' mercy."

"Well, at least you're not alone," Sam grinned, "You've got a little more backup these days."

"True," he hefted a sigh, before moving towards the classroom, "Let's just hope this ghost gets bored and moves on. Who knows, maybe it'll be friendly?"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Tucker stared hard at Sam. Sam glared back.

"What? Just making sure it's you!" he threw up his hands in defense, "This is the third time this week you know…how am I supposed to know the difference? What did I do in second grade to your lunchbox?"

"Ugh, this is getting annoying!" Sam let her forehead hit her locker before fiddling with her lock, "You barfed in it!"

"It is you Sam!" Tucker playfully patted her on the head before retreating quickly, lest he feel the Goth girl's wrath, "Look on the bright side, maybe it isn't just you. Maybe this ghost is impersonating other girls and we just don't know it because we don't hang out with them…I mean, it isn't around us _all_ the time."

"Sure seems like it to me," she growled out as she wrenched her locker open, "Since when do I ask Danny what he'd want to see me in on his birthday?"

"Hey, we all thought you were trying to get him to tell you what he wanted," Tucker shrugged, defending their lack of attention to detail when it came to her sudden copy, "His face was pretty funny though."

"If it's a ghost, why isn't he able to tell?" she sighed, the looked towards the roof, "He is getting really annoyed with this you know, and so am I!"

"Gotta' be the AC," Tucker shook his head, "but shouldn't he be able to, you know, _sense_ something?"

"The link doesn't exactly work like that," Sam shook her head as she finished loading her backpack with the necessary books for that night's homework, "I mean, if we're standing close together it's a little easier to read, but…if I concentrate it can be just as easy even if we're a couple of miles apart. It doesn't really get stronger or weaker because of distance."

"Well what about the emotions not matching what's happening? Danny mentioned that."

"That's not easy either," Sam shook her head again as they started to walk, "I can be smiling on the outside and crying on the inside. Same for anyone. It's hard to judge, and I know that it helps that we're close friendship-wise, but with it being so close to Danny's birthday the real me is probably just as confusing as the fake me because I _am_ trying to figure out what he wants…"

"Sounds like it sucks," Tucker bumped shoulders with her.

"You have no idea…"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey, what's up?" Valerie nodded to Danny, "Did Sam find you?"

"She just told me she was looking for you," but he trailed off as Sam approached with Star talking about their Economics class. Danny and Valerie both did a double –take.

"So now there's two copies, or a really fast ghost," Danny let a huge breath escape him, "Great. Perfect…"

"Whoa ghost boy, ease up," Valerie scolded, noticing green bleeding into his eyes, "She's safe right? I mean, the worst that's happened so far has been a little embarrassment from the way the copy acts…at least we know that when Sam acts weird it's probably 'cause it's not really her."

"Still doesn't answer why it's Sam they're copying," he shook his head, "And isn't it a little too convenient that it happens to be _my_ girlfriend?"

"I don't know Danny," Valerie could offer little comfort, "I really don't."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Dash twirled his lock open, thinking over the newest play his coach wanted them to memorize by their evening Thursday practice, which was due to start in about twenty minutes. It wasn't hard, but it had a lot of details that depended on the quarterback, which was his position. He hardly noticed when Sam walked up beside him until she made a strange little sound of frustration. Grinning to himself, Dash simply intoned, "Twenty three, seven, nineteen Manson. Don't be a loser who can't remember their own combo."

"Who told you my combo?" Sam cocked her head towards him, and Dash felt a shiver run down his spine.

Trying to play it cool, Dash just shrugged before hastily glancing around and catching Danny's eye with a look that clearly said, 'Dude, get your glowing ghost ass over here now.'

"What's wrong?" Danny strode up, looking between Dash and Sam.

"That ain't Sam," Dash backed away, shaking his head.

"What?" Danny turned back quickly to see Sam melt into an amorphous green blob of ectoplasm that shot off through the wall. Danny threw a quick glance around before shoving himself into Dash's locker, yelling, "C'mon Dash, I thought we were done with stuffing me into lockers!"

A flash through the slats let Dash know he'd just been used as a cover and he growled out, "Dude you owe me!" as several passersby glared daggers at him. He just shrugged, grinned his best King of Casper High grin, and headed to practice. He was a little shook up, but he was starting to get used to all the weirdness that followed Danny, 'Maybe he'll finally catch that ghost now. Hope Sam doesn't catch it first…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Gotcha'!" Danny slammed the ghost into the school's roof with Tucker and Sam standing just behind him. They'd seen Danny Phantom's flight up through the floors after what looked like a green streak and decided it was worth the detention to follow. Most of the people around them barely batted an eye and went on with what they were doing.

"_That's_ what's been copying me?" Sam ground her teeth, stomping forward, "I'm so gonna' rip it a new one!"

"I know you," Danny eyed the blob critically, motioning for Sam to back off as Tucker handed him a thermos, "You worked with Spectra!"

"How did you know!" Bertrand, tried to wiggle free to no avail, "Let me go!"

"I didn't know for sure," Danny grinned, "but I do now. Where's Spectra?"

"Penelope is in the Ghost Zone," the ghost averted his gaze, "but she'll come looking if you don't let me go!"

"Not on your afterlife," the halfa bit out, "Why have you been copying Sam?"

"It's not just _your_ girl," Bertrand shifted his gaze.

"Okay, so why are you doing it? Got a perverted side?" Tucker leaned over Danny, Sam following suit, "I mean, I know Sam's good lookin', but I thought you were usually a dude."

"I am a guy!" answered the flustered ghost, "I'm just trying to help Penelope. She's wanted a new form, so I thought I'd learn a little about female structure so she could model her new form off of what I could show her. We're on the list to get out next week! Check with Walker."

"So you snuck out ahead of time," Danny relaxed his grip slightly, "to find your girlfriend a new face."

"Faces," Bertrand sniffed airily.

"That doesn't explain why you've had to try and imitate me with my friends," Sam took the thermos from Danny and waved it menacingly in his face, "I will suck you into this and shake it every hour on the hour if you don't start talking. Now."

"If I can't infiltrate your little group of friends successfully, then I obviously have not succeeded in copying your form," his eyes followed the offending thermos back and forth as Sam waved it in his face, "Now get that out of my face."

"No, put him in it Sam," Danny grinned, "I think you ought to learn to wait your turn when it comes to getting out."

"What! No! I-!" but he was cut off as Sam happily did as Danny asked.

"Feeling better, you two?" Tucker hooked his arms over their shoulders, grinning from one to the other, "Mystery solved! And it was actually easy this time, might I add."

"Who would've guessed," Danny laughed, "He's whipped."

Sam just grinned maliciously as she gave the thermos a good shake, "You better not ever try to impersonate me again…"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

As Danny, Tucker, and Sam headed back down, Spectra let herself become corporeal again high above the rooftop, smiling and congratulating herself on how well her plan was going. She swooped down a little lower, running her tongue over her teeth as she thought of her next move and opened the large binder of information Vlad Masters had provided her.

'That was well done, Bertrand,' malicious laughter bubbled out of her as her eyes flashed, 'Mystery solved! What a fool…'

Laying back and letting the wind take her, Spectra began to thumb through neatly typed notes, black pen adding thoughts and information here and there about the group that surrounded Daniel Fenton. Part fact, part conjecture, and all deliciously usable in what was to come.

Bertrand being caught had been a minor concern, but one she was glad she had planned for. He had done his part well, 'Well enough to convince that little group anyways. How fun! This whole month has been quite…filling. But my, this was just the little bite to whet the appetite.'

'By the time I'm done with all of you,' Spectra grinned as she began to plot a very special surprise for Danny Phantom on his birthday Monday evening, 'I will have more than enough to fuel me to my greatest! Surprise Danny, you're going to catch a couple of ghostly troublemakers at your party. Happy seventeenth birthday, little halfa!'


	5. Flummox

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Went back and tweaked the very end of the last chapter just slightly. Covered up a booboo I made, honestly. Oh, and gave Star and Kwan last names in this chapter!  
Ready for some more action? This is a three-day chapter, Danny's birthday on the 29th (a Monday) and the next two days after that, rounding out and ending their first month back at school.

Thank you all for the reviews and PMs I've gotten! I love each and every one of them!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Five: Flummox**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_The answer is of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved._

_Excerpts from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Monday, September 29th, 6:07 AM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"So are you ready for your birthday party tonight, little bro?" Jazz's voice danced merrily across the phone line as Danny held it between his shoulder and cheek, currently bent over tying his shoes, "Didn't think you'd want to have it on a school night though…"

"Yeah, well," the halfa sat back up as Matches tried to get him to play with one of the many shredded socks his boy had provided him, "I'm not inviting that many people, and this way it will be short. There's been too many weird things going on to have a longer party. I just have this feeling that a ghost is going to pop up or something."

"When doesn't a ghost pop up, Danny?" Jazz smiled to herself, leaning back on her dorm room bed, "I'm sorry I can't make it down. I feel really bad about missing your seventeenth birthday."

"Nah, it's cool," he had finally given in and was currently playing tug-of-war with dog, "You're coming down for Thanksgiving right?"

"Of course! Can't leave my baby brother to the mercy of vicious attack turkeys," the wry tone in her voice had Danny smiling to himself, shaking his head at the memories that flooded him, "And anyways you know Dad will have a cow if I don't make it home at least twice a semester."

"You are his princess," Danny laughed as Matches began to growl lightly, the young man making faces at his faithful friend.

"Yeah, but you're just as much the prince in this family," Jazz wisely quipped back, "You know how Mom and Dad get whenever you do something that remotely ties you to ghost hunting. They get all starry-eyed and start making plans for your amazing future taking over Fenton Works and all…"

"Oh, right," his eye rolling was obvious even over the phone, "because it'll be soooo easy to take over a business that's main motto is pretty much, 'Let's catch and dissect Danny Phantom!'. I think you're a little more suited anyways."

"No thank you," Jazz drew out the words, "I know exactly what I want to do with my life…speaking of which, I talked to Sam a couple of weeks ago. Haven't really mentioned it until now, 'cause I didn't know how to bring it up…"

"She told you I didn't apply anywhere, didn't she?" he grimaced slightly, feeling the girl they were speaking of begin to poke their connection in curiosity, "Jazz, don't start on me too."

"I'm not starting on you, I swear!" she shot back a little too quickly, "I'm just worried, and so is Sam. Danny, you know we'll all help you, however we can. You should at least give yourself a chance."

"Right," Danny stood to stretch, then moved to grab his backpack, "because being who and what I am gives me tons many opportunities to even think about a career outside of what I do now."

"You'd be surprised little bro'," Jazz just shook her head, "Give yourself a little more credit…Mom and Dad for that matter. Don't you think it's time you at least try to-"

"No Jazz," Danny sighed heavily, "Not yet. I gotta' get to school, I'll talk to you later alright?"

"Alright," she pouted, "Just remember the time difference! Don't call me at ten at night, it'll be midnight here if you do!"

"You just had to go out of state," Danny laughed, "Later sis."

"Bye little bro'."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

5:20 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Sam was in something of a tizzy, though she would never honestly admit to it. After making the coupon book and talking his parents into getting Matches last year, she was seriously running short of ideas for a gift fitting her significant other. Getting him CD's or movies or whatever just didn't seem to fit the bill anymore, 'Not that he wouldn't appreciate those things, it just feels like it needs to be a little more personal.'

She had really left it to the last second this year, walking store to store in the mall when she should have been getting ready to head to Danny's house. She only had thirty minutes to find something, _anything_, before she'd be late.

'Seriously,' she fumed to herself as she passed yet another store that had absolutely nothing she could see herself getting her best friend, let alone her…well, her more than a friend, 'this should _not_ be this hard! Why am I freaking out about this?'

Sam stopped in the middle of the mall concourse, arms folded and ignoring the people who shot her dirty looks as they had to walk around her small form. Her eyes drifted from storefront to storefront, discounting every one until a small child nearly bowled her over, running from his parents.

"I wanna' go there!" he pointed enthusiastically, and suddenly Sam had the perfect idea. It wasn't something _she _would have thought of, but it was definitely something Danny loved.

'Oh yeah,' she grinned as she pulled her credit card from her back pocket, 'He'll love this.'

"Hello, dear, welcome to the Discovery Channel Store," a kind faced older woman greeted her as she walked into the store in the wake of the very excited kid and his parents, "Is there something I can help you find?"

"Yeah, actually," Sam cocked her head towards the display window, "I want to buy one of every set on display."

"One of…every?" the lady glanced between the huge display and the girl who was waving a Centurion credit card, "Right away ma'am!"

"Can I get it gift wrapped too?" Sam smirked as the woman and her store assistance hastily agreed to her request. She grinned even wider when she caught sight of the wrapping display, "Preferably the one with ghosts on it."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

5:58 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Tucker had just popped his head through Danny's door as the boy finished pulling a fresh t-shirt over his head, grimacing as it messed up the hair he had been trying to tame since he got home from school. Tucker threw the badly wrapped present in his hand at the back of Danny's head and laughed with great satisfaction when it bounced off and Danny turned with a jerk.

"Happy birthday man!" Tucker wagged his eyebrows, "Sorry it's not Goth shaped, but I didn't feel like getting my butt kicked by trying to put a bow on Sam."

The sudden image of Sam in a bow…and not much else, flashed across the halfa's mind, followed by a great deal of nervousness that he might have accidentally sent it to Sam. They'd both been trying to wrangle that little issue with the link into some semblance of control, but it was a lot harder than either had originally thought it would be. When nothing but a gentle brush of comfort mixed with inquisitiveness came back, Danny relaxed, shook his head and zapped Tucker with a tiny ghost ray.

"Ouch! Hey now," Tucker laughingly ran, "I already said I was sorry I couldn't get her for you, no need to retaliate in disappointment!"

"Boys," Maddie's voice floated up the stairs from the kitchen, "Don't wreck the living room, I just finished setting everything up! And did you finish cleaning your room young man? It's almost time for everyone to get here!"

"I did!" he hollered back down to his mom as he glanced around his still exceptionally messy room, "Where's Matches?"

"With your father in the lab!"

"Okay!"

"You guys," Dash pushed in with Star and Kwan behind him, "have got to invest in earplugs if you plan on hanging out around here. Apparently the Fentons have this thing about yelling to each other, no matter where they are in the house."

"That's the only way to talk," Star giggled, "Me and my Mom do it all the time. My Dad aaaaalways complains though."

"Hey man," Kwan and Tucker exchanged high-fives and fist bumps, "Where's the b-day boy?"

"Trying to hide all the clothes and stuff in his room that he told his mom he already picked up," the boy grinned as he sat his backpack on the couch, "So it falls to me to play host for a bit. Come on in, make yourself at home, just like we all do, drinks are in the kitchen, etcetera, etcetera."

"Where's Sam?" Star asked as she set a gift bag down on the coffee table in the living room, "Helping Danny?"

"Nah, she ain't here yet," Tucker checked his phone, "but she messaged me about twenty minutes ago that she's on her way. She should be here any second."

"Thought she would have been the first one here," Kwan popped the top on the Dr. Pepper can he gladly accepted from Maddie, "Hi Mrs. Fenton, I'm Kwan."

"I'm Star," the girl stepped up beside her boyfriend, "Thanks for letting us come over for Danny's party."

"Oh, it's no problem," Maddie waved them off, "Just make yourself at home, and don't mind any strange noises from the basement. That's just our ghost lab."

"Don't mind any of the food either," Danny chuckled as he hopped down the stairs two at a time, "If it moves, glows, dances, growls, or anything-"

"-it's still perfectly safe to eat," Sam finished as she opened the door, Valerie following right behind her, "Seriously though, if it growls let one of the Fenton clan deal with it. They've got years of practice."

"Perfectly in sync with each other," Star sighed a little dreamily, "You two are so soul mates."

Danny and Sam blushed as they shared a knowing look and everyone started to laugh. Maddie just shook her head, before informing the kids that she was going to head down to retrieve her wayward husband so they could do cakes and presents. As soon as the door to the basement opened however, Matches flew like a shot straight for Sam, much to the entertainment of the entire group.

"Alright, already," he hauled the overgrown puppy off of his girl, "You missed her, she gets it."

"He's so cute!" Star cooed, "I want a dog so bad!"

"You can share this one," Sam laughed, wiping the dog spit from her face, arms, legs, and anywhere else Matches had the chance to give her puppy kisses.

"Alright!" Jack's voice boomed as he came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of fudge, "Let's open some presents!"

"Tuck's first I guess," Danny ripped into the manhandled gift, "Dude, awesome! How the heck did you find a copy of this game?"

"Eh," Tucker shrugged as he fell back into the couch, "I know some guys online that helped me track it down. Happy birthday, man."

"That game's ancient," Kwan laughed as he handed Danny a package that was wrapped even worse, "Open this."

"Sweet," Danny's eyes lit on the new two-person shooter that had just been released the week before his birthday, "We're playing this one later!"

"Dibs!" Kwan declared as Star scooted her present towards Danny.

"Me and Valerie went in on this one together," the bubbly girl grinned, "Hope you like it!"

"He will," Valerie rolled her eyes, "Trust me on this one."

Danny reached into the bag and pulled out a framed certificate, along with a packet of what looked like various information. Cutely confused for a moment, his face melted into utter delight, "You guys named a star after me!"

The packet was passed around and admired by everyone, with Jack and Maddie promising the kids they could head up to the Emergency Ops Center later to use the telescopes. After the fuss had settled down, Dash simply threw an unwrapped comic on Danny's head, "Someone said you don't have that one yet."

A grin was plastered to the young man's face by this point as he happily flipped through the number seven edition of G. Rangers. By this point his good mood was so tangible to Sam she would have sworn it was spreading out from them and swamping everyone else. They'd all been snacking as they went through the gifts and Danny had already shown them in between the other girls' and Dash gift the various items his parents and sister had gifted him.

When Danny turned his glowing face towards her though, she looked up and to the side, pretending that she didn't know what he was looking at her for. A devilish grin tugged at her lips as she knew she had everyone's attention, "I guess you're expecting something from me too?"

Danny just nodded, but Sam put her hand up to stop him before he could speak, "It's going to be delivered in about an hour. So you're just going to have to wait."

"What no instant delivery?" Valerie teased.

"Didn't use the hotline, this time," she coolly stated as Danny pouted visibly, and emotionally began tugging on their connection for her attention.

"I guess we'll just have to wait then," Tucker grinned, "Bring on the cake!"

With the candles lit and 'Happy Birthday To You' sung in varying styles and renditions by his friends, Danny sat happily chewing his lightly glowing cake, sneaking Matches a few bites when his parents retreated to the basement to let the teens take over the living room.

With Sam snuggled into his side as she, Valerie, and Star talked about the star naming, Danny felt happy, whole, and relaxed. As soon as he thought that however, he tensed, knowing that the other shoe was going to drop one way or another. A hiccup, followed by a dancing blue wisp caught everyone by surprise.

"What the heck was that?" Kwan pulled a disgusted face, just as Star scooted back slightly. Before anyone could come up with an excuse however, all hell broke lose.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

6:45 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The moment the presents and food had been caught up in a whirlwind, everyone either dove, or was shoved, behind the couch, with the exception of Danny, who was frantically searching for _any_ ghost hunting equipment his parents had left out.

Matches was going ballistic, and Tucker was barely able to hold the dog back. His barks and the scream from Star, and Dash, had brought Jack and Maddie charging up the stairs and into the living room, and while they had their guns, the ghost…or rather ghosts, had a few tricks up their sleeves as well.

"Oh, I don't think so tonight!" Spectra's shadowy figure materialized in the heart of the maelstrom, Bertrand in his favorite form of an older gentleman beside her, "Back you go!"

A thrust of her hand and wind kicked up to throw the Fentons back towards the kitchen, knocking them both forcefully into the wall.

"Mom!" Danny yelled, "Dad!"

"Danny," Valerie tossed him a blaster, only to have it intercepted by Bertrand, "Damn it!"

They were giving him very little choice at the moment, but as soon as Spectra began to descend on the group hiding behind the couch Danny felt Sam's eyes on him. In slow motion it seemed he turned to face her, finding her solemnly nodding her head, just once and pushing him an image of him in ghost form. He swore he could hear Sam's voice telling him, 'It'll be alright Danny.'

Leaping towards Spectra and throwing up a green barrier in front of the couch, Danny changed in mid-jump, the light washing over everyone present.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

6:40 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Five minutes prior to the excitement, Jack and Maddie had just settled themselves in front of a new set of schematics they were planning on working on over the next week or so.

"Think Danny's enjoying his party?" Jack asked as he studied the blueprint, chewing thoughtfully on the second to last piece of fudge.

"I think so," Maddie smiled knowingly to herself, listening to a peal of laughter break out amongst the group of teens upstairs, "He just wanted something small with his closest friends. Sounds like they're all enjoying it."

A sudden burst of activity, Matches barking, and a scream broke them from their work and conversation. With barely a look between them, both parents rushed from the basement to find a ghost threatening the children, with Danny the only thing between his friends and the entities. Before they even had a chance to fire, Maddie felt the shockwave slam into her, throwing her violently into the kitchen wall. Pain wracked her body and fireworks lit behind her eyes.

As she began to fade from consciousness, she watched as her son jumped and a flash of light engulfed him; images of black hair fading into shock white the last thing dancing through her mind as the darkness took her.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

6:46 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Sam had managed to grab Kwan's head and pull him down behind the edge of the couch just as Danny leapt, but she had no way to get to Star who was clinging to Valerie like her life depended on it. Dash lunged for them both a second too late, and the girl was witness to Danny's transformation.

Shock, disbelief, and fright exploded across her face before the three tumbled down. The green shield fully encased them and gave a moment's peace as Danny dealt with the two ghosts who decided to crash his party.

He didn't dare take any longer than necessary and try to doll out witticism or humor, as his parents lay slumped on the kitchen tile. Instead, the halfa laid into Spectra with all he was worth, focusing his energy into a glowing green uppercut that sent her reeling. Bertrand snuck in from behind, pushing Danny forwards with a blue, burning shot of ectoplasmic energy, before Danny had a chance to block.

Picking herself back up and roughly wiping green blood from her lip, Spectra charged forward, "Don't mess with me ghost child, this is what you get for sending Bertrand to the Storage Room out of that thermos!"

"He should have waited his turn!" Danny yelled back, loud enough to trigger just a bit of his ghostly wail and keep the shadow ghost out of range, "That's why the agreement was in the first place!"

"I never signed an agreement!" Spectra sniffed, then lunged again, but Danny was ready this time. Catching the ghost by the front of her shirt, he turned quickly to catch a sneaking green panther and slam them into one another, dazing them both.

"Catch!" Tucker called as he finally managed to find the thermos stashed away in his backpack. Danny caught it with barely a glance away from his opponents and quickly drew them in. Changing back and lowering the shield he had been holding, he rushed to his parents.

'They're unconscious,' he checked them over quickly, thanking his lucky stars that they weren't hurt worse, and at the same time thanking his lucky stars that they hadn't been witness to what he'd done, "Sam, you guys alright?"

"Yeah Danny," she stood stiffly, looking everyone over and worriedly watching Star, "We're fine, good thing you hit the Anti-Ghost Security Button."

"Yeah, we'd have been toast," Tucker quickly pitched in, though he saw the way Valerie kept an eye on Star, "Val? Everything okay?"

"I'm not sure," she moved towards Star, just as Danny turned back towards the group. Star squeaked something unintelligible, then moved backwards quickly, nearly tripping on the overturned coffee table.

"Star?" Kwan walked up to her, "Babe?"

"I…I…I gotta' go home!" Star pushed away from Kwan's arms, snatching her purse in passing before she slammed the door open and bolted.

"Star!" Kwan called after her, "Dude, I gotta' catch her, she must be terrified. I'm sorry man!"

"No, it's cool," Danny answered without thought, already knowing, thanks to Sam's emotions and the images running rapidly through his mind, exactly what Star had been a witness to, "Go catch her and make sure she's alright."

The group waited as he took off at a full sprint, not even bothering to shut the front door on the way. Sam quietly moved to the shut it, before pulling it back open in surprise.

"Wow, Fenton residence right?" a deliveryman looked in through the doorway with several ghost-paper wrapped boxes piled on a dolly beside him, "Must've been some birthday party. Anyways, delivery for Danny."

"Here," Danny sighed and headed over, signing for the packages, "Just leave them on the porch."

The man nodded and headed off, while Sam turned and gave her best fake-out grin, "Uh, happy birthday?"

The rest of the evening was spent cleaning and watching over the Fentons, Danny and Dash having moved them to their bed upstairs. Valerie and Sam were talking over what Star had more than likely seen and trying to figure out how to approach the girl.

"You're gonna' have to talk to Kwan too," Dash cut into their conversation, "Star's gonna' tell him and he's _gonna'_ believe her."

Danny sank onto the side of his parents' bed, hands coming up to rake through his hair in frustration, "I _knew_ something was going to happen today!"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

10:02 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

At about ten Jack finally started to come to, insisting that he was fine and didn't need to go to the hospital to be checked for a concussion.

"A Fenton's head is too hard to get a concussion anyways," he waved them off, a smirk and chuckle coming from Tucker and Sam as Danny rolled his eyes, "Maddie, baby, wake up."

"Jack," Maddie slowly started to come around after some coaxing, Danny all the while explaining how he'd managed to set off the Anti-Ghost Security in the house, "Wha-where's Danny?"

"I'm right here Mom," he slid up behind his father, taking his mom's reaching hand, "We're alright, the AGS took care of the ghosts."

"The AGS?" she echoed back, "Oh, my head…I guess that explains…"

Maddie trailed off as she watched Danny look away slightly in what appeared to be a fit of nerves, 'No. It couldn't have been. Danny's terrified of ghosts…'

"Did the house get torn up too bad?" Jack asked, and the kids took that line of thought and ran with it, explaining how they'd already picked everything up and were tired and needed to head home and didn't want to impose any more, and, and, and…until they were out the door, Sam included, and Danny was tiredly hauling several boxes up to his room.

"Good thinking tonight," Jack clapped his son on the back, pulling him into a quick hug, "We'll make a ghost hunter out of you yet."

'If only you knew,' Danny half-smiled and continued up to his room with the last package under his arm and his dog climbing the stairs at his side, 'Now what to do about Star…and Kwan…'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Tuesday, September 30th, 12:04 AM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey little brother, it's just me," Jazz talked into her phone and recorded her message, "Just wanted to call and tell you Happy Birthday again! I figure you're having too much fun to call me, so don't worry about it. I'll talk to you late! Love you little bro'!"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

2:03 AM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey Sam," Danny's voice crackled over the cell phone, "Made it home okay?"

"Yeah, I was fine," the girl rolled her eyes as she lay back in her bed, "Are _you_ okay? You feel like your mind is running a triathlon."

"Just confused, worried, a little scared," he sighed heavily, "You know, the usual when someone finds out."

"Hey," Sam closed her eyes, let her thoughts wander back to happier moments spent in the halfa's company, and just grinned, "If Valerie, you know…the girl who wanted to hunt you down and kill you, and Dash, the guy who routinely stuffed you into lockers, can come to terms with it then I think it's safe to say someone as sweet as Star and as nice as Kwan will come around eventually. I think Star's just a little shook up."

"You know, you're almost always right?" Danny fell backwards onto his bed, having already sent the thermos through the ghost portal. Spectra and Bertrand would get out eventually, just not as soon as they'd probably have liked, "And I know what you're doing. No one feels that happy at midnight on a school night after a party like mine."

"So sue me," Sam shrugged, "I can help my very important person to relax."

"VIP, huh?" Danny chuckled as his phone beeped to let him know he had a message, "I'm moving up in the world."

"Maybe," Sam yawned, "Did you open your presents yet?"

"Not yet," Danny yawned in response, "Maybe tomorrow after I deal with the mess I made."

"Well, when life gives you lemons," Sam grinned again, "might as well sell those suckers and make some money."

"I love you," the boy chuckled, "You're the best."

"I know I am."

"Night Sam, hope you're ready for tomorrow."

"Always am…night."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

6:02 AM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Danny, sweetie," Maddie slowly pulled his door open, "time to get up."

"I'm up," he grumbled from under his pillow, "I'm up."

"Sweetie," Maddie took a half step into his room, before pausing, her mind swimming with half formed words, theories, ideas, "If you ever need to talk, about anything, I'm here."

"I know Mom," his blue eyes peered up at her as he rolled over, ever the typical teenage boy.

"Okay."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

7:47 AM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Star's not here today," Valerie stood beside Danny as he opened his locker, "Dash said Kwan didn't come to practice either."

The halfa paused, a frown marring his brow.

"Hey," Valerie gently elbowed him, "It'll be cool."

"That's what Sam says," he gave half a grin, "I'm not really worried, but…Star was really freaked out, huh?"

"Yeah," Valerie agreed, "that's probably why she's not here today."

'Hope she's alright,' Danny glumly shut his locker and moved towards first period.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

4:58 AM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"'Lo?" Kwan groggily answered his phone, then perked up as he heard Star's voice, "Star? You okay? Why didn't you talk to me last night? You wouldn't even let me in your house."

"I'm sorry, I just-," she stopped for a second, "Can you meet me outside, I came over."

"I'm coming," Kwan replied worriedly, ending the call and hurriedly pulling on his athletic sweats and pullover. He quietly crept down the hall and out the front door, finding Star pulling her jacket more tightly around her small frame and casting nervous glances over her shoulder, "Hey, what's wrong?"

"It's…I saw Danny change yesterday," Star latched onto Kwan's arm as he moved to hug her, "I saw him change into that ghost kid, Inviso-Bill! The one everyone's started to call Danny Phantom!"

"What?" Kwan pulled back slightly, searching her face for some sign of a joke, but all he found was barely contained panic, "You're serious."

"He…he jumped towards that other ghost and then this green shield popped up over us out of nowhere and this weird light started at his stomach and went over his body and…and…there he was. He was Inviso-Bill!"

"Oh my God," Kwan thought back, "I saw him start to jump, and then the shield, but Sam…she pushed me down, made me turn my head away."

"Valerie was trying to do that to me too I think," Star pulled her young man down to sit on the edge of the sidewalk, "then Dash tackled us. I didn't see anything after that, but everyone _knew_ I saw it. Didn't you see their faces?"

"I did, but…" Kwan shook his head, thinking back over the flash of light he had seen just as Sam managed to get him to move, "Oh my God."

"What do we do?" Star shivered, "What if he's mad? We can't do anything!"

"Star," Kwan started, then hesitated before continuing, "I…don't really know what to think, but, I mean, Danny…he's…I don't think Danny would…"

"They all knew," Star leaned against his larger frame, "Dash knew!"

She had sat up straight so suddenly that Kwan was afraid she was going to hurt herself, "Kwan! Dash _told_ us! Last year!"

And Kwan remembered. How a worried Dash had approached him with what he thought was the funniest joke ever. How they'd laughed until Dash had just nervously joined in, then left their table under the pretense that he had to get home.

"Kwan, I don't want to go to school today," Star's voice pulled him from his thoughts, "I…don't know what to think right now either, but I don't want to face…everyone yet."

"Me either," Kwan pulled her closer, thinking over the possible consequences of their discovery.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Wednesday, September 31st, 8:43 AM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Danny sat slumped against his locker with his head in his hands, Mr. Lancer standing worriedly in front of the young man with Sam at his side, explaining what had happened and why he wasn't in class at the moment.

"So to boil it all down, I'm just worried," he finally met the older man's eyes, "Freaked out really…they didn't come to school at all yesterday, and I have no clue if they came today."

"I saw Star," Sam quietly admitted, "on my way to first, before I…felt you and went to get Mr. Lancer."

"Danny, stand up," Lancer's tone was stern, the halfa feeling as though he had little choice but to do as the man asked, "You will go to class. You will not wallow in self-pity or self-loathing. And when you see Star or Kwan, you won't go rushing to explain things."

"But Mr. Lancer I-"

"Just let me finish Mr. Fenton," Lancer cut off his overly stressed student, "Don't rush into explaining. You'll be forcing it upon them, before they are ready. If you see them, act friendly, and let them come to you."

"Just like Dash and Valerie did," Sam asserted, "It'll be fine. Now, come on, we gotta' get you to class. It's almost the passing period."

"Are you sure?" the halfa sent a searching look towards the Vice-Principal. Lancer calmly collected his thoughts and began sorting through them to find the best words to put his young ward at ease.

"If Valerie and Dash, who certainly had no love lost for you in the past, can overcome their prejudices towards Inviso-Bill, then I am certain that two such shining examples of good friends as Ms. Star Singleton and Mr. Kwan Phan will come around…so long as you don't _push_ them."

Just as the bell rang, Danny and Sam started to move away from Edward Lancer, heading towards their respective second periods when Star happened to turn the corner. Sam grabbed Danny's hand in a show of support as the poor boy almost dropped through the floor in fright. Star stopped as well; shocked to be face to face with the pair, before flashing a very nervous smile.

Sam smiled back, and simply said, "Morning Star, hope you're feeling better now," before moving to tug Danny away.

He resisted for half a second to throw a shy, "Me too, Star," her way before letting Sam lead him off.

Star, a little stunned, let the thought wash over her that maybe it wasn't as bad as she had feared. Maybe, things were still okay between her and Kwan and their little group of misfit friends. Shaking off a few lingering doubts, Star made her way to her next class, returning a curiously happy Mr. Lancer's smile and salutation.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Monday, September 29th, 11:40 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Ah, soooo good to be out of that cursed thermos!" Penelope stretched like a cat as she felt her body expanding back to it's proper dimensions, Bertrand doing the same beside her, "Very quick work, Vladimir…finding us so aptly…"

Vlad smirked, stepping back into his own version of a Specter Speeder, "Glad to have been of service. You took quite a risky move, Spectra dear. How were you so certain he'd toss you back into the Ghost Zone so quickly?"

"Oh, a boy like Danny Fenton," she grinned maliciously, "of course, his type would want to be rid of us as quickly as possible, but he's not so cruel as to leave us indefinitely, now is he? No, that's more your style."

"Indeed," Vlad tossed the thermos back to the waiting pair, where Bertram caught and crushed the hated item, "All according to plan."

"According to plan," Spectra echoed, laughing wickedly, "And so much more to come!"

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Wednesday, September 31st, 12:56 PM

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Good afternoon class," a bubbly black-headed substitute teacher greeted Kwan's math class, "I'm Ms. Sandra Pen. Mrs. Libby has taken ill over the weekend and I'll be substituting for her until she recovers. Now, why don't you all introduce yourselfs, so I know your names? How about you start, young man?"

"Um, I'm Kwan Phan, Ms. Pen."

"Very nice to meet you Kwan," she smiled prettily, something flashing in her green eyes, "Very nice indeed."


	6. All Hallows' Misconnect

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Hello again. Maddie is getting curious. Danny is getting ghostly. Sam is Sam. Star and Kwan get a taste of the otherwordly. Please enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Six: All Hallows' Misconnect**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_Of all the things he must guard against, hatred and contempt come first, and liberality leads to both._

_Excerpts from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

In the time that Matches had come to live in the Fenton household, everyone had noticed a certain ability on the dog's part when it came to anything ghostly, or rather anything that had ectoplasm in it. He would cock his head, one ear up as though listening intensely, watching a wall from time to time, or the door to the basement.

When Danny had first showed the dog into his parents' work area, the puppy had sat whining at the top of the stairs, refusing to move further down.

"Sensitivity to spectral anomalies is common in almost all animals," Maddie had wisely remarked, "Just start slow with him Danny, he'll get used to it all."

And indeed the little dog had; first sniffing out the gadgets and gizmos the Fentons made, powered of course by ectoplasm, before hesitantly making his way down the steps and investigating every inch of the basement-cum-office area of their house. The more time the little dog spent around everything, the less scared he had become…the only problem was Matches was becoming far more in tune with the spiritual world as well.

The first time Matches had cocked his head at Danny with that same intense look of concentration on that little puppy face, Maddie had played it off. It was sometime around New Years, if she remembered correctly, and she thought perhaps her cooking devices were fluctuating in their normal output of residual energy in the food. Human bodies were known to be able to carry a trace amount of it, if enough was consumed or if a ghost had overshadowed them for a long period of time.

Most of the time, though, Matches spent just laying his head against Danny. On his foot if he was standing, across his lap or stomach if he was sitting or laying down, and every now and again she would catch the little dog just sitting with his beloved boy, nose to nose. It was almost as if he were trying to tell his human something in those moments. Maddie had never truly noticed before, but now as she watched her son and his dog lounge on the couch, it was almost as if Matches was listening to Danny's body.

'I never thought about it before,' Maddie stopped in the doorway between living room and mudroom where her washing and drying machines were, hefting the load of dirty laundry settled on her hip, 'That's what he does when he's listening to…'

What Danny realized that his mother didn't was that there was a certain hum to all ectoplasmic energy. Matches was attuned to his particular signature after having been with him for so long, and Danny figured the dog found the constant thrum of his energy comforting in some way. Maddie stood watching a puzzle with too many missing pieces sitting in the shape of her child.

A flash in her mind's eye had her replaying the evening of her son's birthday, something with white hair, 'I need more information…'

"Danny, are you feeling okay?" Maddie moved to the couch and set the basket down, watching her son set down the remote and turn to face her, Matches barely moving in his spot, "You're always so tired…I'm starting to think that maybe all the ecto-residual energy in my food is starting to effect you."

_Something_ flashed across her son's eyes-was it humor?-before he just grinned his reply, "No way Mom, you're food's fine. I'm just tired from all the schoolwork. You know how senior year is…"

"Oh I remember," she smiled, then with a sigh stood to return to her chores, "Jazz nearly ran herself ragged trying to get all of her college applications done, not to mention the AP tests and college courses she was taking on the side. Speaking of which, you haven't mentioned needing any help with anything. Some of those applications require a lot of information about your family, so just ask if you need to know about anything."

"Oh, I uh-," her son shifted slightly, nervous tension running through him, "I already asked Jazz…she helped me."

"Oh," Maddie frowned, then plastered a smile on in the face of her son's obvious lie, "Just make sure you finish everything before your deadlines. If you don't apply, you won't get accepted Danny."

Leaving it at that, she turned away…noting the sigh of relief her son let go at her leaving. There was much to consider, just not enough to make a solid thesis with yet.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Mid-October found winter air blowing in sharply, dropping the temperature much sooner than normal for Amity Park. The weathermen on all the channels were already predicting heavy snowfall by the end of November, and cautioned everyone to begin preparing for a blizzard or two before the end of the season.

Matches had just jumped on Danny's bed, pouncing on the boy with a whine and waking him up from a light sleep. It was a little after three in the morning, but Danny wasn't upset with his dog…rather he viewed him as the most reliable early warning system he ever had. A few second later, blue mist drifted from his mouth, noting the presence of ghosts nearby. A light chuckle reached his ears.

"That truly is very strange," a nasally voice drawled, followed by a snorted laugh, "I would've been teased even worse than I was if I'd have done that at school."

"Really, not many people notice, Poindexter," Danny shrugged as he sat up, wrapping his arms around his knees, "What're you doing out tonight? I thought you weren't supposed to come through until next week?"

"Oh, I'm not here officially," the ghost paused, then took off his glasses to clean them, "I mean, I am here officially on business, but not to get out yet."

"Okay," Danny drew the word out, prompting the other ghost to continue.

"It seems that a few of us have a request," the black and white boy finally replaced his glasses, "It would really be the cat's meow if you'd let us too…"

"Let you what?" Danny asked flatly, Matches growled lightly then snuggled under his upraised knees and out of sight of the other strange ghost, "How many of you want out, who, and why?"

"You're always so square," Poindexter outlined the shape in the air, "Just a few of the regulars who've been coming out and not causing trouble. We just want to be ghosts and give everyone a good scare…recharge the batteries a little, if you will. Like I said, it'd really be the bee's knees if you let us. Ember told me to tell you that it'd go a long way towards everybody making peace. A show of trust or something."

"You do realize how screwed I'd be if I let you guys out and you decide to cause trouble?" the halfa scrubbed at his eyes in irritation, wiping sleep out of the corners, "Man…I'm gonna' regret this…"

"So you'll do it?" the ghost's happy tone had Danny hanging his head because he knew he was going to give in.

"Yeah," he replied, then stood and changed forms, "but I want to go back with you and talk to everyone. Is this enough advanced warning from me?"

"Why not," Poindexter shrugged, then moved towards Danny's mirror, "Just follow me, if you would."

"Lead the way," Danny motioned, glancing back to Matches who had curled up under the blankets, before stepping through the thick, liquid0like surface of his mirror into the grey toned copy of his school. Walking through the corridors, Danny had a sense of deja vu but shook it off, 'The last time I was here was not fun.'

Standing outside the entrance were nearly two dozen ghosts, who all started to speak at once as Danny and Poindexter stepped through the doorway. Most of them were giving their own reasons for wanting out, assuring him they wouldn't cause much trouble outside of getting some good scares in. Youngblood took the opportunity to blow a whistle and shut everyone up when Danny had crossed his arms and started to tap his foot impatiently, "Shut up, ya' ghouls! The first mate wants to have a word with ya'!"

"First mate, huh?" Danny shot the kid a look, "Listen, I don't mind a few of you going out for Halloween, but seriously guys, look at how many of you there are. How the heck do I know you aren't going to overrun the town?"

A few sniggers reached his ears and had Danny's eyes flashing dangerously before Ember's voice floated down to him from the eaves of the school where she had been lounging, previously unseen, "Listen dork, if we haven't been able to overrun your town by now, we probably ain't gonna' do it. 'Sides, we all know how easy it is to get in a free scare on Halloween. No fair, you getting all the fun."

"The fun?" Danny turned to stare up at one of his not so favorite ghosts, "You think it's fun for me on Halloween?"

"Duh," another voice called out from the crowd, "When else do you get the chance to go into a haunted house and feed off of all the humans' fright and fear without having to do any work?"

"What?" Danny turned back around as some of the ghosts began to whisper to one another over his apparent confusion.

"You mean you don't soak it all up?" Poindexter adjusted his glasses as he gave Danny a rather serious once over, "How do you keep yourself all powered up then? Everyone's gotta' eat."

"I do eat," Danny was starting to get irritated and had the feeling that the other ghosts knew something that he should know too, "Just not…I've never um, _fed_, off of fear…"

"Loser," Ember scoffed as she jumped down from her resting place, "How about this. We get out, pick a couple of haunted houses the humans are setting up, haunt the heck out of the places, and you can swing by and check on us. Maybe participate _with_ us instead of being all goody-two-shoes and making us come home before we're done, huh?"

"You want me to…," Danny trailed off, slightly confused, mostly curious, "Really?"

"Why not," Youngblood said, "Maybe we can actually teach you something about being a _real_ ghost."

Nearly everyone in the crowd that had gathered laughed at that, and Danny got the feeling that it was something of an old joke. It was true, trust had to go both ways, but it was going to be Danny taking another step towards it before these beings would be willing, "I guess when you put it that way."

A cheer went up, and even though the halfa was somewhat reluctant at first, he began to feel better about his decision when he saw that a good number of the ghosts were ones he had begun to trust a little more. As they began explaining their various plans and _why_ they wanted to do some of the things they were planning, Danny began to understand a little more about his ethereal counterparts, 'Maybe this will actually be sort of fun. Better to take Tuck and Sam though, and Valerie probably too…rather be safe than sorry.'

At about a quarter to five, Danny slipped back into his room, waving goodbye to the ghosts just the other side of the mirror. It had been weirdly…fun to talk about ghostly things. It was something he didn't realize he was missing until just then. Reaching out and finding Sam's soothing feelings of contentment as she was sleeping, lulled him just enough to allow sleep after all the excitement. Next Friday was going to be a very busy day and he could use all the rest he could get.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The rest of the week passed without a single sign of any ghost, and Danny found himself relaxing. Star and Kwan had yet to approach their little group of those in the know, but at least they hadn't run screaming every time they saw him at school. Danny found some comfort in that.

Star had retreated to the A-list table, taking Kwan with her, though they kept somewhat to themselves through lunch. They didn't so much interact with the other kids, as just sit somewhere that their other friends could keep them entertained with their chatter and gossip.

Whenever Star saw anyone in the hall that she suspected _knew_ what she had seen, she simply ducked her head and said hello in passing. It wasn't much, but Danny took it as a good sign.

Kwan on the other hand was growing more and more quiet as the days passed. The month flew by and still he had yet to cast a single glance towards any of them, not even responding beyond monosyllabic responses when Dash would talk to him about practice. Sam was starting to get the feeling that he'd be the toughest nut to crack when it finally came time to talk about what had happened.

Between soothing Danny, trying to get her schoolwork done, and filling out a huge amount of college applications, Sam was beginning to feel worn down. Add in the fact that Danny wanted her, Tucker, and Valerie to help him chaperone the ghosts tonight and she was more ready for Halloween to be over more than she had ever been before.

Tucker had already decided for them that Sam and Danny should patrol one of the two haunted houses, while he and Valerie took the other. Sam just rolled her eyes, knowing her other best friend a little too well. Valerie, though, had immediately agreed to it as a great plan.

"This way we have one fighter, and one sidekick to a group," she calmly agreed, then grinned, "Besides Danny and Sam will have some alone time this way."

"Yeah, 'cause we really like playing suck face with all my former enemies around," Danny rolled his eyes, "And you're not a sidekick, Sam, you're a partner in crime."

"Always good to hear it," Sam had snorted and changed the subject, "So what are you guys dressing up as?"

"Pirate," Danny grinned, a twinkle in his eye and a lightness running through his heart, "Youngblood decided he was going to loan me his parrot too, so I'd be more authentic and not ruin his reputation."

They all had a good laugh at that as Tucker threw in his two bits, "I'm gonna be Nikola Tesla…an _undead_, Nikola Tesla!"

"I'm just gonna' be in my suit," Valerie shrugged, "Easier that way."

"I'm going as a Goth," Sam deadpanned. Everyone burst out laughing again.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

For the first ten or so minutes after sundown, everything at the haunted houses had flowed smoothly, just as the operators, actors, and owners had expected. About two or three walkthroughs after that though, and they were learning that things were apparently a little more realistic than anything they'd ever been able to come up with.

"Omygah!" a young girl screamed at her friend in line as she passed though, "They had ghosts! Like real, freakin' ghosts! Best haunted house ever! I was so scared I thought one of them was going to eat me!"

Kwan and Star nervously shifted behind their friends as they all started to chatter about how that girl was losing it, no way they'd have been able to convince real ghosts to come and haunt this warehouse.

"I can't believe you let Jimmy talk you into coming to this," Kwan pulled her a little closer to his side, "I don't even want to think about ghosts right now. Besides, I have math homework I was supposed to be doing. Ms. Pen gave us a ton of it to finish by Monday!"

"Relax," Star said brightly, trying to sound braver than she felt, "It's just a haunted house and Karen and Cecily are right, no way there are _real_ ghosts here. Besides we're in a group, we'll be fine. It's just a stupid haunted house."

"Says the girl who can't even watch a PG-13 horror movie without having nightmares for a month," Kwan rolled his eyes, feeling intensely uncomfortable, "We don't have to go in."

"I know," Star replied after a few seconds' hesitation, "but I think I need to."

Kwan just stood shaking his head, doubt and fear and upset roiling in his belly, churning up his stomach until it began to make him feel nauseous. Another five minutes found them at the head of the line, and there was no turning back if he didn't want to be teased by his so-called friends.

Kwan felt trapped.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Danny was, surprisingly, having the time of his life.

He'd always been a little mischievous, but apparently put him around Youngblood, Poindexter, Dora, and a few other ghosts that Sam had never seen before and that mischievous streak went off the chart. She'd been all for helping him watch over the other ghosts, but for some reason never expected the halfa to join in.

'With very little coaxing,' Sam rolled her eyes and tried hard not to smile as his thrill and joy rolled over her, 'Having a little too much fun…again. Time for mean old Sam to step in.'

With a sigh, Sam marched forward from her hiding place by a stage prop to grab a maniacally grinning Danny by his floating ankle. She proceeded to drag him backwards from the ring he and the other ghosts had formed around a shrieking group of college-aged girls, effectively ending their group scare and snapping Danny back into reality. He was quite the ghost pirate right then.

"Aw c'mon," Youngblood cajoled her for the thousandth time, as the little group ran for the exit, " We weren't done with 'em yet!"

"They had enough," she waved him off and tugged on Danny's leg again, getting him to land beside her, "Having fun?"

"You've got no idea," he shook his head, before she gave him a hard look, "Well…maybe you do. It's really-"

"Addicting, I know," Sam finished for him, leaning back against the wall,

"Why'd you have to bring the bone-bag anyways," Youngblood pouted, then yelped as Danny smacked him on the back of the head.

"Watch it, kid," the halfa growled out, "Don't call her _that_. Sam's my girlfriend."

"I take it 'bone-bag' isn't a compliment," Sam turned to Dora, who shook her head rapidly, mumbling an apology about Youngblood being young and not knowing better.

"Enough already," another of the ghosts cut in, "the next group's coming. After this group, we'll have to move to a new area. How about the second floor?"

"Sounds good to me," Danny shrugged, all eyes on him as apparently he was the leader of their little group by some unspoken rule, "but I think I'll sit this one out with Sam."

"Whatever you want," Poindexter shrugged, just before they all popped out of sight.

Sam and Danny leaned back against the wall together, and just as Danny thought to lean in to steal a kiss, Tucker's ringtone sounded from his phone. As Danny answered, and was being entertained by the stories Tucker was relaying him from the other haunted house something caught Sam's ear and she motioned that she'd be right back. Danny just nodded and kept listening to Tucker's happy report that all was well, and apparently hilarious.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Man, it feels really cold in this hall," Kwan groaned, Star shivering against his side. So far, the Halloween attraction hadn't been too frightening, but for a girl like Star it was something out of a movie. She was very frightened, but having a good enough time. Kwan just wanted to leave.

"Hey guys," Sam's voice startled the group, causing several of them to shriek and most of them jump at her sudden appearance from behind a curtain, "Heard you guys coming and thought I'd say hi."

"You work here Manson?" one of the group questioned.

"You could say, I'm keeping an eye on some things behind the scenes," she smirked, then looked towards Star and Kwan, "Hey, can I borrow you guys for a second?"

"I guess," Star stepped towards her cautiously, only for Kwan to step back at the same time, "Kwan?"

"Let's just go with the group."

"No, I really think you should come this way," Sam winced, then revealed why to Star, "It's, er, really…uh, _ghostly_, up ahead and I know how scared you are…"

"Oh," understanding lit in Star's eyes as she and Kwan waved the rest of the group on and stepped behind the curtained wall with Sam, "Um, well…thanks?"

"Yeah, I figured that after everything you guys wouldn't really want to see what happens ne-" a scream cut her off and several very ghostly laughs and wails came from just down the hall, "Yeah…see?"

Kwan nodded slowly, thankful that she had stopped them. Star was feeling much the same way as goose bumps rose on her arms.

"Anyways," Sam peeked back around, then started to move down towards the end, behind the separating wall, "It should be good now, 'cause they're moving to the second floor. You can probably catch up w-whoa!"

Sam had been snatched up into the air by an invisible set of arms, a heart stopping chuckle of what sounded like pure evil, echoing around them. Star sunk back against Kwan, clutching her purse in front of her like a shield, "What are you doing down this hall all alone little girl?"

Danny melted back into view, his eyes glowing brightly and a wicked grin splitting his face. Star squeaked then and Kwan slipped backwards against the wall, catching Danny's attention and causing him to quickly drop his grin.

"As you can see," Sam calmly rolled her eyes and folded her arms in his grasp, "I'm not by myself. Congratulations Danny, you just managed to scare the heck out of the two people you've been worried about scaring the heck out of. And you still didn't scare me."

"He didn't _scare_ you?" Kwan exploded, thrusting an upraised pointed finger towards the hovering halfa, "What _is_ he?"

"A halfa," they replied at the same time, only to see Kwan grab his hair as he stood shaking his head. Star took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Look," Sam started gently, Danny setting them both on their feet and changing his form to that of a normal human, "Whenever you guys are ready, we want to talk to you. No one's mad or anything like that."

"I'm not really crazy either," Danny chuckled nervously, keeping his distance and assuming an unthreatening stance, "Honestly…even if I usually look like I am."

"Danny's been keeping an eye on a few ghosts that wanted to help the haunted house be a little more _authentic_ tonight, and he kinda' got carried away, which is why I'm here," the raven haired girl explained, "He's been trying to scare me all night, but it's sort of pathetic being as I _know_ he's here and I know he'd never let anyone, or anything, hurt me. Same goes for you guys, you know."

"So…you're a ghost?" Star finally squeaked out, nervously looking here and there as though trying to decide whether it was safer to run or stay put, "How'd you die!?"

Sam and Danny both broke out in laughter at that, confusing the heck out of the scared pair of teens in front of them, "I didn't die."

Finally getting his laughter under control, Danny took a deep breath to begin his explanation, "I was born a human…I am a human. I got caught in a lab accident our freshman year, that my parents _don't_ know about by the way, and now here I am, halfa' ghost-"

"-and halfa' human," Sam finished with a wry grin, "I know this is a lot to take in, so just…just think it over, okay? Just please don't tell anyone."

"Yeah," Danny heaved a deep sigh, "I'm not really ready for the whole world to know who I am yet."

"You're _really_ Inviso-Bill," Kwan managed to get out through his shock finally, sliding down the wall he had been leaning against, "Star really saw you change into _Inviso-Bill_."

"Yeah, only," Danny winced, "I sort of hate that name. Most of the ghosts call me Danny Phantom. Play on Fenton I guess."

"So you're not dead?" Star swallowed hard, watching Danny carefully as he shifted nervously from foot to foot, his hand creeping up to rub at the back of his neck, 'He acts just like Danny always has.'

"No, not dead," he reiterated, "Um, look I know I freaked you guys out…so I'm going to go. I need to check on the ghosts on the second floor anyways. Sam?"

"Yeah, go on," she shooed him with her hand as he started to float up towards the ceiling, "Just remember to let the kids get away from you guys eventually."

With a last nod to his girlfriend, and a last worried glance towards the pair backed against the wall, Danny slipped through the ceiling to find the other ghosts and start to wrangle them back into some semblance of organized chaos.

"I'm sorry you got scared," Sam apologized sincerely, moving towards Star to take her hand and start to lead her towards the exit, "I didn't want you guys to see Danny like this. It's a lot to take in without the image of him being all evil…"

"He was just playing around thought, right?" Star questioned slowly, "He isn't really bad is he?"

"No," Sam paused as Kwan caught up with them at the backdoor, "Here, this leads out to the back of the building. Go to the right around the corner and you should find your friends there. No ghosts outside, I promise. Just…just don't stay away too much longer. Danny's really freaked out about freaking you out and everyone misses hanging out with you guys."

Star giggled, caught somewhere between nervous and relieved. Kwan stayed very quiet. Both said their goodbyes to Sam, with Star promising she'd talk to her soon, "I think I need a little more time to wrap my mind around this. I'm sorry Sam."

"Don't apologize," Sam waved her off, "Wait until you _hear_ some of the stories. Danny spends half of his time playing hero to the whole town, and the other half trying to be a normal guy."

As they headed around the corner, Sam glanced up and to her left, "I know you're there."

Danny faded back into view, a pained look on his face, "Man, I messed up big time."

"Maybe not," Sam reached up for his hand, letting him pull her up and into the second story with him, "At least we got a chance to tell them you're not an evil, crazy ghost."

"Yeah, 'cause that'll help," Danny shook his head, tension and nerves running high and leaving him with no desire to scare the daylights out of random people that he usually protected, "that'll help a lot."


	7. Counterpoint

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Nope, didn't forget about what Danny got for his birthday from Sam…also, I don't write lemons…citrus-y though, that's something else entirely.

I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but the last couple of chapters have had a very rushed feel to them, as in the way the timeline is moving and the scene jumps from person to person. It's going to stay like this for a while to reflect how our friends in Amity Park are feeling. Let's see where this is taking us shall we?

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Seven: Counterpoint**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"_[…] prudence with respect to disbursement of one's own wealth."_

_Excerpts from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The Monday after Halloween weekend had not been an easy one for Edward Lancer. When the cold front had rolled through, the man mistakenly thought it would bring relief from all the problems the high school had been experiencing with their air conditioner.

'_Farenheight 451_!' the man cursed silently to himself, slamming the door to the boiler room shut, 'Well be frozen before the end of the semester without a little heat and I am certainly _not_ burning books to keep the students warm.'

The boiler had finally given up the ghost, an apt phrase in Edward's mind considering the town they all lived in. The biggest problem at the moment was just _how_ outdated their heating system seemed to be, 'Principal Ishiyama will _not_ be pleased.'

Tiredly rubbing at his forehead, the man turned to make his way back up the stairs. A fight breaking out at the top of the stairwell had him hurrying up them. Huffing and puffing as he reached the top, Lancer found to his great surprise Dash and Danny squaring off in a bit of a yelling match, 'Just what I need.'

"How stupid are you, Fenton?" Dash slammed his locker shut and advanced on a grimacing Danny, "Seriously?"

"Hey, I didn't exactly mean to do it!" Danny shot back and held his ground. Arms folded in defense; the halfa glanced away guiltily as Lancer descended on the two.

"Mr. Fenton, Mr. Baxter," he snapped as he stood between them, "Are you quite done? I have very little patience at the moment to deal with any petty arguments."

"We're fine," Dash grumped. Lancer sent one last warning look to the young men, then moved on, a far more serious problem on his mind. As soon as he was out of sight though, Dash rounded on his friend again, "You seriously know how to screw up sometimes."

"Yeah, and I don't need _you_ of all people lecturing me about it, Dash," Danny pointed accusingly at the larger teen, "I didn't know Kwan and Star were there, or I wouldn't have done it, okay?"

"Aren't you supposed to be more observant?" Dash slapped the halfa's finger away, "You think _I_ was freaked out? You haven't been around Kwan like I have over the last month. He won't even talk to me right now!"

"Ease up," Valerie pushed between them, "What happened, happened. Danny was dumb, I think he gets it."

"Gee thanks, Val," Danny slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked off, "Way to make me feel better."

"Danny-," but he had disappeared around the corner, "Damn it. Dash you had better apolo-"

"Attention students," Principal Ishiyama's voice snapped over the P.A., "We are currently having difficulties with our heating system. As such, we will be bringing space heaters into the classrooms and ask that you keep your jackets with you until we can fix the problem. We will be sending notes home explaining the situation. Thank you."

"Well that's just great," Valerie replied angrily to the air, "What happens if there's a ghost and Danny doesn't sense it? I'm gonna' be pulling overtime!"

"Hey, 'ease up'," Dash mocked her earlier words, only to be pushed into the lockers as she stormed off, "Geeze, everyone's in a bad mood."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

A bad mood was a bit of an understatement if the sour looks being thrown around during lunch were anything to go by. Tucker scooted his chair closer to Sam as he shivered in his light jacket, hoping to absorb some of her body heat. He'd already tried with Valerie only to receive a very dirty, "Don't even think it, Foley."

"Everything alright here?" a teacher that Sam recognized as Mrs. Libby's temporary replacement walked up to their shivering table.

"Just cold," Dash whined, "That's all."

"I know it's cold, but at least the classrooms have space heaters," she grinned as she too shivered a little too dramatically, causing Sam to have to resist rolling her eyes in front of the woman, "Hurry and eat so you can get back, okay?"

Heads simply bobbed in response, and the teacher moved to lean against the wall, inconspicuously observing the little group from a distance. They all looked terribly miserable, 'How wonderful!'

Green eyes scanned the surrounding area, finding several students in less than chipper moods, 'What a stroke of genius to blow the boiler, Bertrand! The perfect way for me to hide _and_ spread a little misery…'

Watching the group in front of her, Spectra just grinned. She had at least two weeks to pose as the human substitute before they had the new heater system up and running. She could get quite a bit of information, not to mention power, in that time.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Kwan," Ms. Pen's voice cut through his troubled thoughts, "Can I see you for a moment? Everyone please continue on your worksheets."

Kwan stood, pulling his letterman closer around him. Monday he'd been so distracted that Coach had benched him for his own safety. He'd also completely forgotten to do his math homework. Ms. Pen hadn't been upset, just _very_ disappointed, which made him feel worse. Tuesday wasn't any better with cold being both inside and out of the building, and somehow he'd managed to lose his homework, leaving Ms. Pen to just sigh. It hadn't been the best start to his week.

'I know I handed everything in today, though,' Kwan walked to her desk, face pulled taunt from anxiety, 'Maybe I got some stuff wrong?"

"Kwan," Ms. Pen started with a very serious face, keeping her voice low, "Is everything okay at home? You've been very distracted the past couple of days."

"Yes, ma'am, everything's fine," Kwan answered, slightly confused, "I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Is it something you want to talk about?" she glanced between his three days worth of homework and his face, "because frankly, your work seems to be suffering. Why don't we step into the hall?"

"Yes, ma'am," Kwan was sweating bullets. He wasn't good at keeping secrets; he _needed_ to talk to someone about this. As soon as the door shut, he started speaking slowly, choosing his words as carefully as he could, "I know a secret about one of my friends and it's been really bothering me."

"Oh?' Ms. Pen's pretty face showed her surprise, "Is it a dangerous or bad secret?"

"Kinda'," the young man winced, then hurried to cover his slip, "I mean it's not drugs or anything like that. I found something out that I wasn't supposed to, but I can't tell anyone 'cause it's not really my place to."

"Kwan," the teacher put a hand to his shoulder, the coldness of her hand somehow seeping through three layers of warm winter clothes, "A good friend knows when to talk to an adult if it's something dangerous."

"It's not," but Kwan stopped, because it probably _was_ dangerous, 'Maybe I should talk to someone…but who?"

"If it comes up again, I'll talk to my parents Ms. Pen, I promise," he nodded his head, more to himself than to the substitute teacher, "I'm sorry for worrying you. I'll pay more attention in class."

"Good," Ms. Pen patted his arm as she herded him back to class, "Very good."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

When the bell finally rang to signal the end of the Wednesday school day, several children were on the proverbial doorstep of dieing of boredom as they lounged outside of Mr. Lancer's office awaiting his return. Valerie was casually leaning against the wall, but impatiently checked her watch every few moments, which caused Tucker to scoot a little further away from her.

Valerie snapped her head up to meet his eyes at the movement, "What? I stink now?"

"No," Tucker's face clearly displayed his irritation, "I just don't feel like getting my head bitten off again for being too close to you, like at lunch yesterday."

Dash and Sam shared a look, to which Danny replied, "What? What's up?"

"Oh nothing," Sam waved him off, feeling a bit irked for some reason, "Just…watching those two argue like a pair of…lovebirds."

"Hey, don't you even start that girl," Valerie warned as she checked her watch again, brow furrowing, "Why are we even here? I have better things to be doing than hanging out after a lame day of school."

"Not to mention a house that actually has heat to go home to," Tucker seconded her opinion, "Let's just leave."

"Nuh-uh," Danny shook his head, "I just got on Lancer's good side last year, I'm not messing it up. If the man wanted to see us, he probably had a reason, so let's just wait."

Five minutes of stout silence rolled by, then another, and another. They were all shifting uncomfortably at this point, the cold eating at them and their nerves playing games with their minds. Twenty minutes after school let out, Lancer's office door swung open much to the shock of everyone standing around it.

"You were in there the whole time?" Sam questioned, sending the vice-principal a most incredulous look in his opinion, "Seriously?"

"I wasn't aware I had elsewhere to be," he shrugged as he looked around the small group around his door, "Was there something you needed?"

"What?" Dash looked around at his friends, then back to the man before them who was looking around in befuddlement, "We got called here to talk to _you_ and told to wait because you were helping with something in the gym."

"I didn't call you, or ask for you," Lancer's brow furrowed as he sneered, "I've been arguing for the past ninety minutes with our contractors of the supposed cost of having the new heating system installed over the weekend. It is ridiculous, the amount of money they want for the work to be done so quickly."

"So if you didn't call us," Danny looked around at the empty halls, "Man…stupid ghosts. I'm gonna' go check on a few things, see you guys."

Danny popped away as Sam sighed heavily, Tucker sending her a worried look, "So are we free to go?"

"Of course," Edward shook his head, as he shuffled back into his office and shut his door, "Of all the places to decide to work I had to choose Amity Park!"

For whatever reason, the four that were left decided to head their own ways. They hadn't felt like hanging out or seeing each other all week. It had been chalked up in their own minds as irritation from the cold, which was just to Spectra's liking.

She briskly walked up the hall to where the kids had been standing, wallowing in their own various forms of upset. Standing with a smile on her face, she just soaked it all in, going back over the newly acquired information about the heater, 'Perhaps our favorite sponsor will have something to help with this. It's too soon to bow out, there's too much to learn, too many feelings to manipulate.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Star and Kwan stood just outside of the school's front yard, talking quietly about their week and how awful it had been. The cutting wind pushed against them both, making shivers run up and down their bodies, "I failed another math quiz. I can't seem to do anything right in that class lately, but Ms. Pen's been really nice about it. She gave me some extra credit so my grade won't drop too far."

"That's really good," Star touched his arm, leaning into him as she pecked him on the cheek, "Wouldn't want you to not be playing football, even if it is freezing outside."

"Yeah, well," Kwan hefted a sigh, "Talk to coach McAllen about that. He benched me on Monday when Derrick almost gave me a concussion from not paying attention for the third time in one practice."

"Well," Star shifted to peek up at his face, "It's only temporary, right?"

"Yeah," Kwan glanced away, "Hey, Star? Do you think-"

"Oh, uh, hey guys," an echoing voice from above had their heads snapping up, "Not to intrude, or you know, bother you or anything like that…but um, have you seen any ghosts or anything weird?"

"Uh..n-no," Star managed to get to out, "S-sorry Danny."

"No! No, it's perfectly cool!" the halfa put his hand in front of him in a gesture of just how cool it was, "Just checking, thought there was one around somewhere, I'll leave you guys alone!"

"Okay," Star gave a halfhearted grin, glancing carefully at Kwan from the side of her eyes, "See you later?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah!" Danny replied brightly, happy shock written clearly in his features, "See ya'!"

As the pair on the ground watched the white haired boy streak away, Star felt Kwan tremble. It was so slight that she thought at first she imagined it, then brushed it away as the cold. When he remained stonily silent, the girl thought that perhaps things had affected him more deeply than she realized. Just as she started to speak, Kwan pulled away gently.

"I'm heading home," he smiled shakily to the girl by his side, "You should too before you freeze."

"See you tomorrow?" Star pouted cutely, surprised when she only got a "Yeah," in response. She drifted off then, unsure of what was happening.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Hey Val," Tucker's voice came through her helmet's speakers, having rigged her phone to patch itself through should someone call, "What're you up to?"

"Just patrolling," she replied absentmindedly, skimming the park before turning her hover board towards the downtown area, "Did you need something?"

"Actually," Tucker's embarrassed tone caught her attention, and she forced herself to listen to her friend a little more closely, "I was just checkin' to make sure you were still cool with me. You've seemed sorta' mad lately."

"Not mad," she corrected as she pulled up short, letting her board hold her above the roofs of several businesses, "I've just been really tired lately. School's been a beast and I still haven't heard back from the colleges I applied to. Guess I've just been worried lately."

"I think we all have," Tucker let a silent breath of relief pass his lips as he reclined into his computer chair, "Sorry that I haven't exactly been a good friend lately. Seems like all I do is bug ya'."

"No," Valerie rolled her eyes, hoping her tone was playful enough that he understood she was teasing, "You bug every girl Foley. Don't think I forgot that 'Just call me T.F for Too Fine' line you were always throwing around."

Tucker just chuckled as she continued, "Anyways, stop being such a nerd and worrying so much. If I didn't like you, I'd have no problem telling you."

"So there's hope yet!" Tucker shot back, and he could just picture her rolling her eyes.

"Kudos points for being man enough to call," Valerie laughed, then left him with one last thought before ending their phone call, "but all points revoked for being such a geek at the end there."

The young man just set with a smile on his face, booting up his computer for some game time enjoyment, 'She called me a man. Oh yeah, lovely lady. That's right. Recognize.'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"Mr. Master," a voice buzzed over his intercom in the luxe private office of his headquarters company, "There's a Doctor Bert Rand here to see you. He says he has an appointment, but I don't have it on the books."

"Oh, yes," Vlad chuckled lightly at the name, "Please send him in, I've been expecting him. We spoke over the phone this morning, I must have completely forgotten to warn you, my dear."

"Oh, that's alright, Mr. Masters," the girl flirtatiously answered, "I'll show him in."

A moment later his door was opened by Felicia, his pretty red-headed receptionist, graciously ushering a short, graying, middle aged man into the room. The good doctor glanced around and nodded his head in appreciation of the décor. Vlad sent Felicia on he way with a silent nod of his head.

"To what do I owe the please, my good friend, Bertrand?" Vlad sat with his fingers in the shape of a steeple in front of his face, "Good news, I hope?"

"Fairly, Mr. Masters," the ghost replied as he shifted slightly, retaining his form still slightly difficult for him.

"Oh, please," the man leaned forward with a charming smile, waving Bertrand forwards towards a chair, "Call me Vlad. All my close friends do."

As Bertrand lowered himself into the ornately carved seat, Vlad cut to the chase, a darkness behind his eyes, "Now, tell me all about what type of device our dear Penelope needs."

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Back in Amity Park

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Sam stretched and rose from her desk, making her way over to the window where a certain halfa had just knocked. Sliding the window open and shivering from the cold wind that blew in, Sam leaned out to find Danny looking around.

"Everything okay?" she raised an eyebrow as he continued to scan the tree line by her house, "Danny?"

"Yeah," the halfa shook his head, "Just being paranoid, nothing unusual there."

Sam just shook her head as well and stepped back, giving Danny room to land and shut her window for her. It was the first time since his birthday that he actually stopped by her room for more than a minute to chat. They'd both been swamped with homework, and Sam still had applications to different colleges and universities spread across her desk, "Almost time for these to be due, huh?"

"Yeah, almost," the young woman sat on the edge of the desk as he thumbed through one of the catalogues of a campus upstate, "Just putting the finishing touches on a few."

She could feel the apprehension in him building, but it swept away just as quickly when he turned to look at her. Still in his ghost form, his eyes shone brightly in the dim light of her room, only her desk lamp on to cast eerie shadows across his pale face. A burn crept across her cheeks; _longing_ shot through her as Danny dropped the brochure and grabbed her waist to slide her closer.

The first kiss was soft, but soon melted into something much more intense. Gloved fingertips toyed with the edge of her very short sleeping shorts, which Sam suddenly felt a little indecent wearing. Danny, however, didn't mind in the least.

"Missed you," he whispered as he pulled back slightly, licking his lips as he did so.

"Me too," Sam copied his action, eyes glued to the fabric stretched tightly across his toned chest. His fingers were still tracing the hemline of her shorts, leaving shock-cold streaks in their wake, the fabric of his gloves creating a delicious friction on her skin.

Melting into his kiss again, Sam brought her knees up to brace on either side of his hips. Danny's moan at the action had Sam giggling against his lips, their eyes meeting briefly. Slowing down, the pair carefully pulled in their emotions, lest they get more carried away than they intended.

Slow, deep kisses sent a fresh tingle down Sam's spine as she reveled in the pure feeling of Danny blanketing her sense. Danny pulled her tighter to him, her butt resting on the very edge of her desk. His fingers ghosted just under the edge of her shorts, gloves tickling the sensitive skin of her thighs.

With a sigh, Sam started to pull back, letting her hand come between them to trace the symbol on his chest. Danny's own hand covered hers before bringing it to his lips. She was shivering from the cold his body was creating, and maybe a little from the desire lapping gently at the edge of his consciousness.

"Never made out as a ghost before," the young man quipped, capturing her lips again briefly, "Kinda' like it."

"I don't mind the view, either," Sam teased as she traced the muscles she could see through his jumpsuit. Danny's pale face went pink the instant before he vanished from her sight.

"Sam," his disembodied voice echoed around her, "That's embarrassing."

"What? I've seen you in just your underwear before," she laughed, but stopped as she felt her invisible halfa shift uncomfortably in front of her, 'Oh…he's happy to see me I guess…'

_This _was new territory. Slightly mortified, Sam sat still, a blush on her face as well now. Danny let a nervous bark of laughter go as he reappeared, waist up, "Sorry."

"I'm not," she daintily averted her gaze, ears going red at her admission, "It's a compliment, I think. Gotta' help you meet your stupid grope quota."

They both laughed at that, Danny daring another kiss before he backed away slightly, "Guess I'd better get home. Got that test tomorrow in history."

"Knock 'em dead," Sam smiled, still perched on the edge of her desk. It was a picture tat Danny was sure would haunt him for the next few weeks as she shifted her knees together and bit her reddened lips, hair slightly mussed and a sweet blush dusting her cheeks.

"Night Sam," he pushed her hair back, letting a last kiss linger between them, "I love you."

"Love you too," Sam whispered as he drew away, "Sweet dreams," and he was gone, leaving Sam's head swimming.

She was _not_ going to be able to sleep tonight, then impishly thought, 'But at least he won't get any rest either.'


	8. Erudite

**Chained Reactions**  
By Lacey52

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

_A note_: Um…M.O. stands for Modus Operandi…which basically means 'Method of operation' in Latin (loosely translated). Also, semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between _signifiers_, such as words, phrases, signs, and symbols, and what they stand for.

Also…a tad heavy on the foreshadowing…in a way. Hope you enjoy!

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

**Chapter Eight: Erudite**

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'_[…]for a man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil.'_

_Excerpts from 'The Prince'_

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

The building was a sad sight, the doctor decided with a sigh, stripped bare of all furniture, decorations, and people. Running his hand over the silver lettering across the door declaring the institution, what it stood for, the graying man of fifty-eight years on the mortal plain felt tears begin to form. The abbreviation 'Dr.' was no more a fitting title, and soon would disappear from this, his former office.

He had worked so hard, years of school and the hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of loans flashing through his memory. He had given up so much, a laughing brunette with dancing shoes and a swirling polka dot dress returned to his mind, regret weighing more heavily upon his shoulders than it ever had before.

Before. What a strange word.

Before that man had dared play him for a fool, but no, he shook his head, bringing a handkerchief up to wipe moist eyes. No, revenge was not a healthy path to follow, this he knew. He had lost everything he had worked for during the past forty years in under three months. Everything he had fought so hard to make!

'And fight I did,' the man mourned, now burdened with even more debt than ever before, more pain and insult piled upon grievous personal injury, 'Now walk away, my boy. Walk away.'

Slipping his fedora back on, he turned and walked away with his back straight. No, not for revenge was he going to throw all caution to the wind. For the safety of one young man and his family.

'That man will not harm anyone else,' he decided as he slipped inside his Buick, 'I will break my oath of confidentiality for a much greater purpose. He will not get away with whatever it is he thinks he's going to!'

Looking over the only sheet of paper he had dared to smuggle away from the building, he set his car towards Amity Park, a city a few states over from Wisconsin. On the paper were only two names: Casper High School of Amity Park and Daniel Fenton. His only clue as to the family Vladimir Masters was so very dangerously obsessed with.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

"And, that's that," the electrician flipped a final switch and power hummed through the building, "Hope it keeps up with the heating for you, but I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how much more efficient this new heating unit is over that old hunk of junk boiler."

"Well, just thank you for agreeing to finish it so quickly. I know working overtime on a Saturday and Sunday pays well, but no one likes giving up a weekend," Ishiyama shook the man's hand, "Please tell your crew I said thank you on behalf of the faculty and students; and send the invoice on Monday."

"Will do," the man nodded, then moved to follow the woman out of the building.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

'Thank goodness,' Sam melted into the heat of the school hall and began to pull off her jacket, 'At least now Danny will have an easier time if a ghost comes to visit and Valerie won't feel so stressed. Speaking of, there she is with Tucker...no surprise there.'

"Long night or early morning? " Sam teased the tousled looking pair, years of Tucker's poking and prodding coming back to bite him in the butt. The blush on the boy's cheeks was completely worth it.

"Hey, don't drag me into your teasing. Just because you and Danny aren't denying it anymore," Valerie griped, "doesn't mean you get to pick who you want as the new lovebirds around here."

"I'm not the one doing the picking," Sam answered smartly back, "Just doing what all best friends are supposed to do for one another and pointing out the _obvious_ to Tucker."

"Saaam," the boy whined, sweeping his hat off of his head to clench it in front of his chest, "Oh wonderful, merciful one! _Please_ don't doom me to death at the hands of an embarrassed second degree black belt!"

"That's _third_ degree black belt," Valerie clenched her fists as a blush dusted across her cheeks as well, "and if anyone's going to get it, it's going to be Johnny 13 and that damn shadow!"

Sam quirked an eyebrow, even as she took a step back, "Bad Luck Tuck is back again?"

"Don't say it out loud!" Tucker rushed to quiet her, looking nervously around, "Valerie just saved me. Johnny was having a good time laughing at me though."

"Hey, he said it was just a prank," Valerie finally relaxed a little and smirked, "As long as they don't try it again, I ain't getting involved past what I already did."

"You're cruel woman," Tucker smashed his hat back on, pointing accusingly at the huntress, "Now I'm gonna' be looking over my shoulder all day."

"At least today's the rotation day," Sam had been forgotten, much to her amusement as Valerie and Tucker kept talking and started to move off, "He's going back in today, so quit whining."

"It's not whining if it's justified," Tucker huffed as they headed up the stairs, "it's complaining with reason!"

"Right," Valerie's voice faded out, "Whatever you say."

Sam simply stood at her locker shaking her head and rolling her eyes, "At least we weren't so bad that we'd walk off and leave people."

A ghostly chuckle from her side didn't surprise her in the least as a voice whispered, "He'd probably argue with you on that one."

"Let him," she grinned wickedly, leaning slightly to the right to come shoulder to shoulder with the invisible boy beside her, a tickle of deep amusement creeping up her spine, "With all the blackmail I have on him, I doubt he'd try it more than once when Valerie's around,"

"Forget merciful," Danny quipped as the hall cleared and he changed back, "You're merciless when it comes to teasing."

"Only with my friends," Sam smirked.

'And that's good to know,' Spectra observed silently with her head through the floor of her classroom, peeking down at the two. Her off period gave her plenty of time to observe her marks, 'Plenty of time to check this device as well.'

The sparkling silver and gold watch Bertrand had presented her with that morning wasn't exactly her style, but it was serving it's purpose, and had kept her hidden thus far, 'Vladdie, you have outdone yourself!'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Late afternoon on the fourteenth found Lancer sitting at his desk, relaxing as he listened to the students begin to clear the halls, another school day over and done with. He had a good chuckle as a few comments made their way through his not quite soundproof office door. Everyone, it appeared, was very pleased that the heat was back on and working, 'And so it was well worth the extra money.'

That thought had him frowning back down at the huge packet of budgets Principal Ishiyama had asked him to look over. He wasn't even sure where to begin. Finding an extra three thousand dollars in their school's already tight budget felt like an impossible task, "And yet, it has to be done."

"Don't go around talking to the air, Mr. Lancer," Danny's laughing voice echoed through the room, startling the man at first, "You never know who might answer back."

"_Tell-Tale Heart_, don't _startle_ me like that Mr. Fenton!" the man sat back glancing left and right, "To what do I owe this sudden, supernatural visit?"

"I was just doing my afternoon rounds," Danny's black and white form came into view near the left corner of the ceiling, catching Edward a little off guard, "Saw some strange guy in a bow tie walking around the math hall. He looks harmless enough, but it looked like he was looking for someone. Thought you might want to know."

"Yes," the Vice Principal nodded as he pushed his chair back to stand, "Thank you for letting me know."

"Of course!" Danny threw a salute before fading from sight through the ceiling, "See ya' later, Mr. Lancer!"

Sighing to himself at how strange it was for such an occurrence to have become so casually regarded in his mind, Lancer moved toward the door and out into the hall. He was happily surprised to see a man, in a bow tie, being escorted towards his office by their temporary hire, Ms. Pen. He wouldn't have to waste his time searching, after all.

"Oh, there he is!" the young woman cheerily waved, "Mr. Lancer, this man was looking for Principal Ishiyama. Since she was already in the departmental meeting, I figured I had better bring him to you. Didn't want to leave him wandering around."

'And getting into something he shouldn't,' Spectra thought darkly to herself, 'The less human adults around, the better!'

"Thank you Ms. Pen," he smiled congenially back, "I'll take it from here, Mr.?"

"Dr. Rhymann, actually," the men shook hands, "Thank you again, Ms. Pen."

"Oh, of course. Have a good afternoon," she replied airily, walking away quickly as she had...other things to attend to.

"What can I help you with, Dr. Rhymann?" Lancer congenially showed him into his office, "I'm sorry Principal Ishiyama isn't available, but I can assure you I'll be as helpful as I can."

"Thank you," the older man answered as he took the proffered seat, then sat collecting his thoughts as Edward patiently looked on, "Mr. Lancer, was it?"

"Yes," he answered, curiosity gnawing at him, "but please, call me Edward."

"Actually, Mr. Lancer, I would prefer to keep this professional," the older man sighed heavily, "for you see I am here on rather urgent business involving one of your students."

Though he was surprised, Edward Lancer hid it well, "Please continue Dr. Rhymann."

"To begin with sir, I am...rather, was, a professional psychiatrist. I held that title for well over twenty years and until recently had ownership of my own institution, in which I actively supervised our highest profile patients," here he paused as though to consider the other's reaction to this, "I was stripped of my business and title recently by false accusations and..."

Here the man seemed to falter, but pulled himself together, deciding to himself to forge ahead to the heart of the matter, "You see, Vladimir Masters, the owner of local Axion Labs, was a patient of mine. He had a rather unnerving fascination with a Daniel Fenton, who I believe is a student here, and had himself released from my care. He then took it upon himself to destroy my business and my professional image. I am greatly concerned for the Fentons."

"I see," Edward Lancer felt a muscle in his jaw jump, "Danny has mentioned him to me multiple times. You needn't say another word."

"I feel though, that I must justify how easily I am breaking confidentiality," the doctor started before Lancer's raised hand cut him off.

"Dr. Rhymann, I have known Daniel Fenton these past four years and have become something of a confidant to him," he reached for pen and paper, "and when I say you needn't utter another word it is because I understand. That man has threatened the child on multiple occasions, and managed to get away with it for far too long in my opinion. Danny has told me more ludicrous stories about that man than I'd care to repeat."

Dr. Rhymann sat in silence, shock and gratitude clear on his face, as he shakily accepted a hastily written address with a note underneath, "That is Danny's address. Just give him the note if he is there when you visit. His parents will take a great deal of convincing-"

"As Mr. Masters was their college cohort," the doctor nodded, "A very, very close friend apparently."

The two sat in lost thoughts for a moment before Dr. Rhymann stood, Lancer following suit, "Thank you, sir, sincerely. You may well be saving this family a great deal of strife."

They shook hands and the older man tiredly shuffled towards the door, "Dr. Rhymann?"

At his pause, Edward continued, "I understand the urgency, but Danny's family can...handle themselves for one more day. You appear exhausted, please consider resting before you visit them."

"Yes, yes," the worried light in his eyes eased slightly, "Perhaps you are right. Thank you again, Mr. Lancer."

And the good doctor was on his way. A shiver passed over Edward and he had the feeling he wouldn't be seeing this man again.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Thomas Rhymann leaned the seat of his car back as far as it would recline, settling in for the night in the nearly empty parking lot of the twenty-four hour shopping center he had just purchased a heavy blanket from. The last fifty dollars to his name had gone into it, outside of credit of course. He was trying to circumvent racking up any more debt than he had to, though it seemed as though it would no longer be avoidable.

'At least I will stay warm in this abominable weather,' he thought to himself as he settled in for an uncomfortable night, thoughts drifting between what he would say...and worry over the Fentons not believing him, 'After all, what reason do they have to believe a stranger who had his license revoked?'

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

Saturday morning dawn bright, beautiful, and unbelievably cold. Winter had set in full force and a light dusting of the season's first snow painted a white line on every rooftop.

Danny would have found it more beautiful if he hadn't currently been arguing with Johnny and Kitty over semantics, "You guys had your turn, you're already supposed to be back in the ghost zone. The Lunch Lady isn't going to wait forever. She warned me that her cookies were getting stale!"

"So what?" Johnny leaned forward into Danny's face slightly, "We're staying out. I had my week, now Kitty gets hers."

"That's not how it works," the halfa folded his arms, legs splayed slightly as he 'stood' in the air over downtown, "You've been out before, why cause problems now?"

"Because we're trouble makers, duh," Kitty rejoined, "That's like, our whole reason for existing. Young rebels in love."

"That's right, babe," Johnny wrapped an arm around her waist, French kissing her noisily to get a rise out of Danny, "In love and in trouble."

"Yeah, yeah," green eyes averted as he waved them off, thinking quickly, "I get you M.O., but I can't let you guys stay out for an extra week. The other ghosts will be after you worse than I am."

"Us against the world," Kitty looked smug.

"No," Danny stressed, speaking more to Johnny now, "You against the Ghost Zone. And not just ghosts like the Lunch Lady. Fright Night wanted out this week too, and you or Kitty are going to be the one to explain why he can't get out."

"Hey man, he'd mess us up," Johnny suddenly backpedaled, "You can't do that!"

"Wouldn't be me doing anything," Danny shrugged, knowing he finally managed to get it through their thick skulls, 'Or well, whatever we have...'

"Look, we'll go back in," Kitty tried bargaining one last time, but Danny was too tired to even listen, "but we want back out next week."

"Nope," Danny replied, tiredly, "There's a list for a reason. You guys have to wait just like, Technus, Ember, and everyone else. But...if you want to talk to them about it..."

"Yeah, alright, we get it," Johnny sounded slightly bitter, but resigned, "We're going."

As Johnny revved his bike's engine, Danny drifted to the side, giving the other ghost room to shoot forward on his motorcycle and slip through a rip created with a replica of his original device. A resonating tingle, not unlike what he felt when Sam was feeling excited about something, shot through his system...only it wasn't exactly an emotion and it wasn't from Sam.

No, this had something to do with his powers reacting to something around him. He always got little tingles here or there when he figured something new out; like levitating objects through what his parents termed telekinesis. He just liked to call it moving stuff...with his powers. Not as technical, but it made him feel less like a circus sideshow, 'Not that I'm _not_ already one.'

He quickly shook off that glum thought and headed for home, satisfied that word would get around the Ghost Zone that the pair were back 'in' and the next group could finally get 'out'.

Another tickle on the edge of his conciseness let him know Sam was waking up, and searching clumsily through their link to find out what he was doing. With an amused chuckle he provided her with an image of Amity Park from above and a general feeling of _good_. That was apparently enough for the girl and he felt her drifting back into the contentment of sleep, 'Lazy bones.'

When Danny made it home, he had every intent to copy his girlfriend and fell backwards onto his bed to catch a few hours of shut eye before his mom got enough of matches and let the dog pounce on him. Alas, it was not to be as he heard the doorbell, Matches barking at the noise downstairs.

'I'm already up,' Danny stood and started down the stairs, pulling a long-sleeved shirt on as he went, 'might as well get it.'

"Coming!" Danny shouted, bouncing towards the door as the doorbell sounded again. Peering through the peephole, Danny found himself looking at the same man that he had seen at school the day before. He opened the door, a friendly smile on his face and a slight tightness to his muscles, "Uh, hi. Can I help you?"

"I was going to ask if this is the Fenton residence," the tired-eyed man glanced upwards with a chuckle, "but I believe the neon sign says it all."

"Oh, yeah," Danny rolled his eyes as he opened the door slightly further and leaned against the doorframe, "You must be here to see my parents. Are you their new investor, Mr. McMallion?"

"No, I'm Dr. Rhymann," the gentleman extended his hand, "Thomas Rhymann, psychiatrist."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Danny," the young man shook his hand firmly, "Come on in and make yourself comfortable. My Mom will probably be down in a minute. I heard her getting up when I came down the stairs."

"Actually, Danny," the man stopped him and handed him a note, "Mr. Lancer, your Vice Principal, told me to give you this first. I haven't read it."

Curious, Danny reached for the paper, glancing between it and the man before him as he read:

_'Danny,_

_Dr. Rhymann has news about Vlad Masters. _

_I believe he is serious, but please be cautious. _

_Perhaps have Foley look into his information, but legally! _

_-E. Lancer'_

"Guess you're not here to see my parents," Danny's jaw clenched, the note crumpling in his hand, "What's Vlad doing _now_?"

"Perhaps I should speak to your parents at the same time as you?" he started cautiously, then stopped in surprise as the young man started to shake his head with a sad look on his face.

"Won't work," he laughed with no trace of humor, "My sister Jazz and I have been trying to get them to believe us that he's a fruit loop for years. Then again, you're a head doctor right? Maybe they'll believe you."

'He clearly resents the lack of faith his parents have in him on this subject,' the doctor studied the youth, 'I hope this doesn't bleed over into trust issues in other areas concerning his parents...'

"Danny? Who's at the door?" Maddie called from the top of the stairs, the jumpsuit catching Dr. Rhymann's attention immediately.

"Uh, Vlad's psychiatrist, Dr. Rhymann," he spoke lovingly to his Mom, respect clear in his actions. The boy may have resented their lack of faith, but it obviously wasn't enough to damage their bond, which spoke very highly of the people of this home.

"Hello," the red headed woman moved to shake his hand, then gestured towards their kitchen, "I'm Maddie Fenton, Dr. Rhymann; is everything okay with Vlad? My husband Jack should be down in just a minute. Can I offer you some coffee or tea?"

"Oh, coffee please," he requested, "I'm afraid Vlad isn't quite as alright as you'd like. This may take some time to discuss."

After getting situated with his glowing coffee, with an aside to Danny about it's drinkability and assurance that it was safe, the man sat patiently observing the family in front of him. Jack's rather large and intimidating frame lumbered through the kitchen entry way moments later and introductions were made. This family was loving, open, honest, and slightly quirky. A direct approach would probably work best, but he had so much to tell them...

"Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Danny," he started once they had all seated themselves, "I have a great deal to tell you, but I will simply start with this; I believe that you may be in some danger in regards to Mr. Masters' behavior as of late."

A pause, and then laughter from the two adults. The only face as concerned and serious as his own belonged to the youngest among them.

"Oh, that's a good one!" Jack's booming laugh finally started to quiet, "Did Vlad put you up to this?"

"No," he answered in a measured tone, catching their attention immediately, "I'm afraid you don't understand the gravity of the situation."

"Now just a minute, mister," Maddie held up a finger, "I know Vlad had been in an...institution to recover from that awful ghost possession, but this is a little ridiculous. Vlad would never hurt our family."

"_Yes_, he _would_!" Danny erupted, standing so suddenly that he jarred the table and caused their coffee cups to rattle, "I've been trying to tell you for years! So has Jazz, Mom, and you know it, but you guys just keep brushing us off!"

"Danny," his father's hand landed heavily on his shoulder, "Calm down son."

"No," he faced his dad head on, "For _once_ there's someone else, an adult who's actually got a _license_ to practice psychiatry, trying to tell you guys that Vlad is one messed up fruit loop, and you're going to blow him off the same way you do your kids!"

"Danny!" his mother started, but Rhymann quietly cleared his throat and once again gained the spotlight.

"Please, let me start at the beginning," he held up his hands to mediate, keeping his gestures slow to calm the situation that had blown up so quickly, "If at the end you still aren't satisfied with what I have to say, then by all means, let me leave and I will never bother you again."

Sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed, Maddie shot her son a look that plainly said, 'Sit Down and Behave.'. Danny did as silently instructed, as did his father.

"While Vlad was under my care, he spoke often of your family," he glanced between the three in turn, "so often in fact, and with such fixation on your son, such obsessive detail about your wife, and such disdain about your husband, that many red flags went up in my mind. He referred to Danny many times as his wayward son and his heir apparent, if only the boy would understand."

The man paused to take a slow sip of coffee as this sunk in, then continued, "He has an unhealthy fixation on your family's dynamics, and a very strange desire, that he tried very hard to hide. To the point that I missed it, honestly, until our last session. I am now trying to rectify the situation."

"What are you saying?" Jack slowly ground out, growing impatient as Maddie sat with a very thoughtful look on her face.

"That he wishes to take over your position as head of this family, effectively making Mrs. Fenton his wife and Danny his real son."

"How can you be sure?" Maddie glanced at her son's hardened face, something flickering in her eyes.

"Our last session was...difficult to interpret, but when he handed me that book," the man's eyes grew unfocused for a moment, "Well, that part is conjecture, but you don't spend your life devoted to the study of the human mind without becoming very good at listening to your gut about people. Our following meetings during the lawsuit he levied against me only furthered my fears."

"Lawsuit?" Danny finally rejoined the conversation, "He sued you?"

"No," here he sighed unhappily, "I sued him. He purchased the land my offices were on from the bank somehow, though it had to have been an illegal deal. I've owned my building and my land for the past seven years now, having finally paid off all my business loans."

"In the end, I lost everything. He took my land, the bank took my building, and the state," he choked up, then cleared his throat, "The state revoked my license...citing an anonymous source who had supposedly presented them with indisputable information concerning malpractice. My record was flawless previously, and no actual evidence was offered for me to contest, leading me to believe that I was..."

"Duped," Danny filled in with a sigh, "Just like _good, ole' Uncle Vlad_ does to everyone."

"I know that, after telling you this, I must not seem the most credible source. Indeed," the once doctor continued quickly when it looked as though Maddie might speak, "I must seem out for revenge or as though I'm trying to ruin him, but I've gone to no one else with these concerns save Danny's Vice Principal to locate your family and warn you. I do not know what Mr. Masters plans to do, if anything, but I caution you, no...I warn you against letting him into your home."

"I honestly don't know what to say," Maddie shook her head, leaning more towards her husband for emotional support, "He was always such a good friend."

"Always helped us out in a pinch," Jack furrowed his brow, "Been my best friend since school. I just can't see him...doing something like this."

"Yeah, well I see it all the time, and so does Jazz," Danny leaned his chair back dangerously far, balancing on the two back legs as he folded his arms, "Come on Mom, what about that one time in Wisconsin?"

"What time in Wisconsin?" Jack sounded almost as if he didn't want to hear.

Maddie sigh tiredly, then began her story. The stranding and ghost attacks; which now that she thought back over it conveniently drove them straight to Vlad. His insistence on them staying with him and his strange behavior that, at the time had seemed ridiculous, but now seemed like overt flirting and innuendo.

Slowly, a sort of understanding lit in the adults' eyes, followed swiftly by betrayal, anger, disbelief, and a swirl of other emotions that would have been difficult to keep up with for the person feeling them, let alone someone who was an outside observer. The good doctor could take a very good guess though.

.o.O.o.o.O.o.

A few cups of coffee and a rather in depth conversation over what, exactly, Vlad might be interested in Danny for found their conversation to be rounding the two hour mark. A knock at the door had a goofy smile spreading over Danny's face. His parents looked on with a smile as he quickly hopped up and headed for the door.

'A girl,' Thomas Rhymann laughed silently as he heard a soft, feminine salutation that the boy returned, 'but of course.'

At the door, Sam and Danny stood watching each other silently after their quiet greeting, emotions slipping slightly as the young woman let out a breath of relief. Moving towards the living room, Sam greeted an overly enthusiastic Matches and began to remove her winter over clothes and shoes to hang near the door.

"I got worried," she said quietly, listening to the Fentons talk with an unfamiliar man, "You weren't answering your phone or answering me, you know, up here."

Sam had pointed to her temple, which made Danny smile lightly, "Sorry, it's just someone is finally here to tell Mom and Dad that Vlad is a certified, dangerous fruit loop."

"And now I know why I feel like I could kiss some strange old guy in a bow tie," Sam stated sardonically, "Got worried about our relationship for a few minutes there. And I sort of want to buy the man a drink…which is not a normal feeling for me either."

"Nah, I'll take credit for that one," Danny moved them back towards the kitchen after their whispered conversation, "Dr. Rhymann, this is my girlfriend Sam Manson. Sam, Dr. Rhymann was Vlad Masters' psychiatrist."

"_That_ fruit loop," Sam eyed the doctor, then smiled, "Glad to see you made it out alive."

"I'm sure the feeling is mutual," the doctor replied in surprise. The two said their goodbyes to let the adults talk further and moved back towards the living room. The conversation from the kitchen lulled and rose, their voices weaving in and out as Danny and Sam talked over what had been revealed.

"I think it's time to call in the rest of Team Phantom," Sam glanced between the kitchen doorway and the dog resting flanked by them on the couch, "We might need everyone's help if Vlad is back in the picture."

"Mr. Lancer said to get Tucker to check the doctor out, just in case," Danny began to nervously run his hand back and forth across his neck, "He's going to want revenge Sam."

"I know," the girl sat still, letting Danny's worry wash over her and trying to take some of it on to ease his burden.

"He's going to be after us again," the halfa sighed, "I think you're right. I think we're going to need everyone's help on this one. I have a feeling Vlad isn't going to hold back anymore."

Nervous and worried, Sam and Danny both sat on the couch for the rest of the morning, only moving when Dr. Rhymann made to leave. Sam memorized the lines of the man's face, his wrinkles painting a picture of a hard, but satisfying life. She wondered over each one as she told him good bye, to be safe, have a safe trip.

She wondered over the regret and worry written clearly across those same lines.

And suddenly she wondered if she'd ever have the chance to meet Dr. Thomas Rhymann again.


End file.
